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http://therecord.com/news/world/w100609A.html The Canadian Press Russian experts warn unilateral U.S. action against Iraq will hit ties Monday October 06, 2002 - 11:49:08 EST FRED WEIR -"The question is, are we part of a law-governed international community, or is the U.S. just a unilateral superpower?" -"What we have learned in the past year is that the U.S. will take everything we offer, and give nothing in return." -"We have supported the U.S. in a war, while they still maintain Cold War-era economic discrimination against us." -"Decisions should be made jointly, through democratic and legal processes. We are ready to play a constructive role, but not to be someone's puppet." -"The issue that concerns Russia is whether we are building a democratic world order together, one based on respect for international law and community opinion. Isn't it obvious that unilateral military strikes by one powerful state have no place in such a world?" MOSCOW (CP) - Russia's post-Sept. 11 commitment to the U.S.-led anti-terrorist coalition may unravel if President George W. Bush decides to attack Iraq without full backing from the United Nations, Russian experts have warned. "The question is, are we part of a law-governed international community, or is the U.S. just a unilateral superpower?" said Alexander Konovalov, director of the independent Institute of Strategic Assessments in Moscow. "We very much want to be a constructive partner of the U.S., but that implies that our views and interests should be taken account of." Russia, a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, has argued that the weapons inspectors should be given a full chance to investigate U.S. claims that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein may be close to developing nuclear arms, before any decision is made about using force. Along with fellow Security Council member France, Russia has angered and frustrated Washington by threatening to block any resolution that would give legal sanction to a U.S.-led military assault on Iraq. Russian diplomats, with long-standing political and economic ties in Baghdad, may even have played a key role last month in convincing Iraq to accept a new inspection regime on its soil - a move that caught U.S. officials flatfooted. Moscow now insists that the inspectors already have an adequate Security Council mandate to do their job. "We consider it very important that inspectors should return to Iraq as quickly as possible," Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Saturday. "Nothing should hinder this." Following the terrorist outrages of Sept. 11, President Vladimir Putin moved Russia into the global anti-terrorist coalition and gave the U.S. substantial assistance in its subsequent war against Taliban and al-Qaida forces in Afghanistan. But even without the current debate over attacking Iraq, that partnership has lately begun to show strains. "What we have learned in the past year is that the U.S. will take everything we offer, and give nothing in return," said Alexei Pushkov, a leading Russian TV commentator on foreign affairs. "We have supported the U.S. in a war, while they still maintain Cold War-era economic discrimination against us," he said, referring to the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, a 1970s law that denies Russia trade access to the U.S. market. The Kremlin casts its opposition to U.S. war preparations as a matter of principle, and some Russian experts even suggest that the current crisis is as much about compelling Washington to obey international law as it is about bringing Saddam to heel. "Russia has no love for Saddam Hussein, and as much reason as anyone else to fear weapons of mass destruction in his hands," said Viktor Sheinis, a professor at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, which trains Russian diplomats. "Decisions should be made jointly, through democratic and legal processes. We are ready to play a constructive role, but not to be someone's puppet." But skeptics point out that Moscow's insistence on respecting the Security Council may be connected with the fact that Russia's permanent seat on that body, inherited from the former USSR, is practically its only remaining source of superpower-style influence in the world community. Moreover, they say, Russia acts much like the U.S. in its own region and listens to the UN only when it is convenient. For example, Putin has been threatening to launch a pre-emptive military strike against the neighbouring republic of Georgia, which Russia accuses of harbouring Chechen rebel fighters. Yet the Kremlin has made no move to ask the Security Council to investigate the issue or to sanction Russian action against Georgia. "Russia needs to clarify its position on many things that are happening, and to work out consistent principles," said Sheinis. "At the moment, we do not have a single line." Another murky element is the extent of Russia's economic interests in Iraq, and how that may be influencing its opposition to U.S. military strikes. Experts say the Kremlin is quite concerned that any post-Saddam regime installed by the U.S. may renounce Iraq's $8 billion US Soviet-era debt to Russia. Moscow may also fear that a unilateral U.S. occupation of Iraq may sweep away up to $40 billion in business contracts Baghdad has promised to sign with Russian companies, including major Iraqi purchases of agricultural products, engineering goods and oil drilling equipment. The chief of Russia's partly state-owned petroleum giant LUKoil, Vagit Alekperov, told a Moscow newspaper over the weekend that he has received official pledges that the Kremlin will strongly defend the company's $6 billion concession in Iraq's West Kurna oil field and other Iraqi investments. Cynics say Moscow may ultimately agree to cast a pro-U.S. vote on the Security Council in exchange for American guarantees that Russian economic positions in a post-Saddam Iraq will be preserved. But most Russian foreign policy experts insist that the quality of the East-West relationship is what's at stake. "The outcome of this debate will show whether our post-September 11 partnership with the U.S. was just an illusion," said Yevgeny Kozhokin, director of the independent Institute of Strategic Studies in Moscow. "The issue that concerns Russia is whether we are building a democratic world order together, one based on respect for international law and community opinion. Isn't it obvious that unilateral military strikes by one powerful state have no place in such a world?" __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.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 ==^================================================================
