THE Taoiseach described discussions yesterday with the Russian Prime Minister, Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin, on the beef issue as "extremely good".
After a 90 minute working lunch with Mr Chernomyrdin at Shannon airport, Mr Bruton said: "The response on the beef issue was extremely good and I am very happy with our meeting.
The Russian Prime Minister was on hiss way from Moscow to Washington for a meeting of the US Russian joint committee for economic and technical co operation.
He is the co chairman of the committee with US Vice President Mr Al Gore.
Mar Bruton said: "I did not set out to get the Prime Minister to lift the ban on Irish beef. It was important to respect the fact that the Russians made this decision, not on political grounds, but on objective assessment from a point of view of minimising risk to their own consumers.
"The Russian consumer is entitled to the same protection as the Irish or consumers in other countries. They are entitled to know that decisions about their safety are being made on objective scientific grounds.
What I was doting and what I achieved was assurance from the Prime Minister that he would be doing everything possible to ensure that at the earliest possible moment the evidence that we are producing here to reduce the level of BSE would be taken into account and that decisions taken by the Russians would be done so on the foot of that scientific evidence in lifting the remaining ban."
Mr Bruton said there was obvious political goodwill by the Prime Minister in that regard and the lifting of the ban could not by done by the stroke of a pen.
Mr Chernomyrdin said the issue could be solved.
"We can act reasonably because we realise that we are big consumers of beef and when it is in our capabilities we will use the Irish beef."
He said the Russian Minister for Agriculture will be arriving in Ireland shortly and will work with his Irish counterpart.
"Russian and Irish experts have already been doing a good job together and all the problems an capable of being solved," Mr Chernomyrdin said.
The two prime ministers had wide ranging discussion which included European security.
They also discussed politics in the two states and Mr Chernomyrdin wished Mr Bruton every success in the coming election "whenever it will be".
Mr Chernomyrdin invited Mr Bruton to visit Russian if he won the election.
Mr Bruton said: "We discussed all kinds of political issues but not the date of the Irish election, for so far none has been set."
Others present at the discussions included the Russian Minister for Energy, Mr Pyotr Rodionov, the First Deputy Minister for Defence, Mr Andrei Kokoshin and the Russian ambassador to Ireland, Mr Nikolai Kozyrev.