A rchive Date
[ 07-09-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Russia ]
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[http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2003/09/05/177368-ap.html
Russia supports U.S. resolution on Iraq
Fri, September 5, 2003
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's foreign minister gave cautious approval Friday to a U.S.-drafted resolution for a greater role in Iraq by the United Nations, saying Moscow wouldn't mind U.S. leadership in a broader international peacekeeping force.
"Preliminarily speaking, I can say that this initiative deserves attention since the content of the proposed resolution reflects those principles which Russia has consistently championed," Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said during a trip to Uzbekistan, according to the Interfax and ITAR-Tass news agencies.
Ivanov reaffirmed Russia's push for a quick restoration of Iraq's sovereignty and added that the draft will need more work to win approval at the UN Security Council. "The American draft sets a general movement toward those principles, and serious work needs to be done so that they are fully reflected" in the final version, he said.
The U.S. draft offers the United Nations a greater role in governing Iraq, preparing for elections and peacekeeping, although U.S. commanders will retain control. Washington said it wanted a quick vote on the proposed resolution, but France and Germany have responded coolly to the draft, saying it falls short by not granting responsibility to Iraqis or a large enough role to the United Nations.
Ivanov's statement came one day after the Russian defence minister said Moscow might send peacekeepers to Iraq as part of an international force - a strong signal that Moscow was edging closer to Washington in efforts to rebuild Iraq.
Ivanov said Friday that Moscow isn't yet considering "in practical terms" its troops' deployment to Iraq, since a new UN peacekeeping force for Iraq is yet to be formed.
He added that "Russia has no allergy to the United States leading such a force on condition their activities are conducted under the UN mandate."
Friendly statements from Moscow, which come ahead of President Vladimir Putin's trip to the United States later this month, appear to indicate the Kremlin's desire to heal a rift caused by Russia's strong criticism of the war in Iraq.
Russia's cautious support for the U.S. draft contrasted sharply with outspoken criticism Thursday from France and Germany.
French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder demanded that Washington give the United Nations more influence in Iraq's political future, a stance that threatened to trigger a new round of trans-Atlantic controversy after harsh criticism of the war by France and Germany.
But both French and German officials reiterated that their countries were ready to work with the United States.
French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin was quoted as saying in Friday's edition of Le Figaro that France "absolutely" intends to co-operate with Washington to find consensus on a UN resolution. "We are entering this new stage in a constructive and open spirit," he told the newspaper.
In Berlin, Schroeder spokesman Bela Anda said Friday "it is good that the United States has launched such an initiative." He reiterated that the U.S. draft failed to take up all the suggestions by Schroeder, Chirac and other non-U.S. leaders.
Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham said his country is "not contemplating sending troops to Iraq."
Speaking in Kabul, Graham said Canada favoured a large international coalition in Iraq, "but it is up to countries to decide themselves" whether to take part.
Canada, whose forces make up the bulk of the 5,000-strong NATO-led force that patrols the Afghan capital, will also limit its involvement in Afghanistan to one year, he said.
Denmark, which has a force of 400 troops in Iraq, will continue its mission there "until the situation is more stable," Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Friday. Speaking in Sofia, Bulgaria, Rasmussen urged the United Nations to increase its involvement in Iraq.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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