HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
Reuters. 24 January 2002. Russia Warns U.S. Against Military Strike on Iraq. MOSCOW -- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Thursday that Moscow was opposed to any U.S. military operation against Iraq, offering crucial support to Baghdad in its confrontation with Washington. In a further gesture of support after talks with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz, Ivanov said Moscow wanted sanctions against Iraq to be lifted. Aziz arrived in Moscow Wednesday amid threats by Washington to use force against Iraq if it refused to allow in U.N. arms inspectors, who left Iraq in 1998 complaining they were being prevented from performing their duties. "We will not submit to U.S. threats," Aziz told a news conference during a break in the talks. "If we face aggression, we will defend our country." Russia has maintained close ties with Iraq and is trying to recover Soviet-era debts of about $9 billion. It is deeply suspicious of U.S. plans to extend military action to other countries suspected of backing international terrorism. "The struggle against terrorism should be based on a firm legal basis and the U.N. should play a coordinating role in the joint international effort," Ivanov said. "That is why Russia sees as unacceptable a mechanical spread of the anti-terrorist operation to any other country, including Iraq." "If such a thing occurred, this would not only weaken the anti-terrorist coalition but also help extremist forces which want to ruin this coalition and aim at using contradictions among its members to achieve their goals." Ivanov reiterated Russia's support for lifting sanctions against Iraq, which he described as "counterproductive." He welcomed dialogue between Baghdad and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, started last year. "Any solution should state clearly the prospects and conditions for lifting sanctions as envisaged in the U.N. Security Council's resolution," he said. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
