SAVANNAH, United States, June 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that a resolution adopted unanimouslyearlier that day by the UN Security Council was a "major step forward".

    Speaking to reporters after talks with US President George W. Bush in Sea Island, some 120 km south from here, Putin said that "without any exaggeration I would state that it is a major step forward."

    Putin arrived in Sea Island, in the southeastern US state of Georgia, on Tuesday for a three-day G-8 summit that started Tuesday evening.

    "This is about a quality change in the status in Iraq and with regards to the presence of the military troops there. And this is about a quality change of the impact the United Nations has over the situation in Iraq," Putin said.

    He pointed out that it would take time for the resolution to make any meaningful difference on the ground. "Naturally, it will take quite a long time before this adoption of the document will have any impact on the real change on the ground in Iraq. But we can convincingly and comfortably state that the situation is rightfor adopting such a serious and such a concrete document concerning this country."

    With the adoption of the resolution, he said, the Iraqi people would enjoy the "whole spectrum" of sovereign rights, and the entire world community, besides the United States and its allies, would also play "a major influence" in Iraq.

    Meanwhile, Sergei Prihodko, a foreign policy advisor to Putin, said Russia was pleased that Washington was moving toward supporting Russia's desire to organize an international conferencefor Iraq, and announced that Russia had accepted an invitation to participate in NATO maneuvers in the North Atlantic this fall.

    He added that Russia would stick to its policy of providing support to Iran's civilian nuclear program, and that the cooperation would be consistent with guidelines set down by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Enditem