- The Russian foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, today said
that there are no immediate grounds to use force against Saddam Hussein's
regime.
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- As international disagreements mounted over Iraq, Mr
Ivanov told reporters in Athens that there was "still political and
diplomatic leeway to resolve the Iraq issue". He spoke after the US
secretary of state, Colin Powell, questioned the commitment of France and
Germany to disarm the Iraqi president, after the countries spoke out against
war.
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- Earlier today the French president, Jacques Chirac, and
the German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, gave a joint press conference
during which Mr Chirac said: "Germany and France have the same judgment
on the Iraq crisis: everything must be done to avoid war."
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- As permanent members of the UN security council, the
views of Russia, France and China are particularly vital to any plans for
war in Iraq. The diplomatic discord comes as the US and Britain continued
to build up military forces in the Gulf.
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- Russia's position is that Iraq is cooperating with UN
weapons inspectors, that there is no evidence it is rearming and that economic
sanctions should be eventually lifted.
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- In an interview published this morning in Russia's Trud
newspaper, Mr Ivanov also denied reports that Moscow was trying to persuade
Saddam Hussein to step down and go into exile. He dismissed the stories
as trying to cast a shadow on Russian diplomacy.
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- But Mr Ivanov did confirm Russia was in contact with
Iraqi officials. He said: "We are not stopping contacts with Baghdad
in order to know more about the mood and thoughts of the Iraqi leadership."
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- Moscow has long-standing ties with Iraq dating back to
the Soviet period as well as important current economic interests in the
country.
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2003
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