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http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/10/01/1033283489274.html Sydney Morning Herald October 2, 2002 France, Russia castigate US invasion plan By Caroline Overington, Herald Correspondent in New York and agencies October 2 2002 The dispute in the United Nations over Iraq worsened yesterday when France and Russia launched diplomatic strikes on the United States over its apparent determination to invade Baghdad if Saddam Hussein interfered with the work of weapons inspectors. France's Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, said the US's stated goal of "regime change" in Baghdad was "against international law". Writing in Le Monde, he said a resolution the US hoped to pass through the UN Security Council was "open to all sorts of abuses". Russia's President Vladimir Putin stressed the need for a "political and diplomatic solution" before releasing a statement strongly criticising the US and Britain for recent air raids on Iraq. But the US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, countered that the raids were in response to Iraq's targeting of allied aircraft policing the no-fly zones. As well as pressuring members of the Security Council, President George Bush is trying to get Congress to pass a resolution allowing him to use force against Saddam, without the support of the council. Passage of that resolution seems certain, although Democrat senators will try to limit its scope. Iraqi military experts met the chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, in Vienna yesterday. The talks were said to be fruitful but the contentious issue of whether inspectors would get access to Saddam's presidential palaces was not discussed. Dr Blix will report on his meeting with the Iraqis on Thursday. In the meantime, serious debate on Iraq continues in New York, with the US deputy representative, James Cunningham, briefing the 10 temporary members of the Security Council at a closed meeting yesterday. The council's five permanent members were due to discuss the resolution this morning. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu 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 ==^================================================================
