February 20, 2002	Wednesday	Zilhaj 7, 1422

TEHRAN, Feb 19: Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi has postponed an official visit to Russia that was to have started on Tuesday.

The delay was due to “coordination problems in the foreign minister’s agenda”, the official IRNA news agency reported.

It gave no new dates for the trip. In Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry issued a terse statement on the postponement.

“By mutual agreement of the sides, the working visit to Russia of the minister of foreign affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, K. Kharrazi, previously planned for Feb 19-20, has been postponed to a later date, to be agreed upon through diplomatic channels,” it said.

As late as Monday, Kharrazi was speaking publicly of his coming trip, saying that he planned to discuss with his Russian hosts the new U.S. position towards Iran and the issue of Afghanistan.

Last month President George W. Bush accused Iran of belonging to an “axis of evil” along with Iraq and North Korea, drawing the wrath of Iranian hardliners and reformers alike.—Reuters