Russia and Iraq keep taking comprehensive measures for the soonest release of Russian diplomats in Iraq, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

"In connection with some media reports about a possible release of four Russian hostages in Iraq, the Russian Foreign Ministry is verifying the reliability of this information in close cooperation with the Russian Embassy in Baghdad, the Iraqi leadership and agencies concerned," the spokesman was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

"Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zibari had a telephone conversation on the issue on Sunday," he said.

The Iraqi minister said that "the Iraqi president, prime minister and relevant agencies are taking active efforts for the soonest release of four employees of the Russian Embassy in Baghdad who had been taken hostage."

Zibari noted that "Russia is a friendly country for Iraq, and this tragic incident did not leave indifferent Iraqi society, various representatives of which are ready to come for help."

On Saturday afternoon, unidentified gunmen attacked a Russian embassy vehicle in Baghdad's Mansur neighborhood, killing one diplomat and kidnapping four others, according to a police source.

(Xinhua News Agency June 5, 2006)