Igor Ivanov

Igor Ivanov became the foreign minister of Russia in 1998, succeeding Yevgeny Primakov[?].

He was an opponent of NATO's action in Yugoslavia, calling the involvement of Russian forces in the peace-keeping mission a mistake. He is an opponent of the U.S. plan to invade Iraq.

He joined the Soviet Foreign Ministry in 1973 and spent a decade in Spain. He returned to Russia in 1983. In 1991 he became the ambassador in Madrid.

References

• "Igor Ivanov", TIME magazine, Septemeber 13, 1999; [1] (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/intl/article/0,9171,1107990913-30994,00.html)
• Bridget Kendall interview with Ivanov, BBC, March 5, 2003; [2] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/2802121.stm), comments (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2820787.stm)