"Russia will work so that the UN Security Council will at its next session react adequately to the real, strong political step taken by Iraq," Itar-Tass quoted Kozyrev as saying late Thursday after ending a visit to Baghdad.
"In the case of Iraq, it should be quite possible to lift the blockade step by step," he said.
Russia led international efforts to persuade Baghdad to recognize Kuwait. It sees an easing of sanctions, imposed after Iraq's August 1990 invasion of Kuwait, as a natural step following Baghdad's recognition of its neighbor Thursday.
Other Security Council members reacted cautiously to Iraq's decision, although many said privately it was a very important step.
But in an initial U.S. reaction, White House spokeswoman Dee Dee Myers said Iraq's recognition must be in "practice as well as in words."
Kozyrev, who spearheaded the Russian drive to persuade Baghdad to recognize its neighbor, said it would take time for mistrust of Iraq to disappear, but told reporters on his flight back to Moscow that there was "hope that warmer days are to come."
He said Moscow was ready to support Iraq. "Under present conditions, Russia is prepared to offer its support to Iraq, now that Baghdad has changed its policy," Itar-Tass quoted him as saying.
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