Monday 23 December 2002

Russia Backs Iraq, Says War Counter To Moscow Interests

Doesn't that headline just fill you with an abundance of yuletide cheer? Thinking about it, this serves as an interesting sequel to the Moscow theatre hijack there are those who believe that the attack was instigated by foreign forces to ensure Russian approval at the UN... Interesting...

Russia stood up firmly for Iraq by declaring that a military campaign there ran counter to Moscow's national interests and urging Washington to strictly abide by UN resolutions on the conflict.

"The most important thing is making sure that Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction," Foreign Minister Ivanov said in an interview with Channel One, broadcast first in Russia's far eastern regions, and picked up by news agencies.

"All other goals run counter to our interests," Ivanov said in reference to the military campaign.

Ivanov called on Washington to abide by the rules of UN Security Council resolution 1441 -- which sets strict conditions for Iraqi compliance with weapons inspection -- that he stressed was the best method for assuring that Saddam Hussein's regime disarmed.

Full story...