| Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the US-led war against Iraq threatened to destabilize international relations to a low not seen since Moscow's standoff with Washington in the Cold War.
Putin told Russian parliament leaders that Moscow had been justified in leading a diplomatic campaign against the launch of a strike against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
He stressed that Russia was developing a privileged relationship with the United States that could help it lead negotiations over Iraq. But Putin said those ties were now experiencing a very serious test.
"As we predicted, the consequences of the war in Iraq are going outside the framework of a regional conflict," a stern Putin said in televised remarks.
"Perhaps, for the first time since the end of the Cold War, the international community has come up against such a difficult crisis. In essence, this threatens to shake the very basis of global stability and international rights."
Putin said that despite the war's outbreak Russia still believed the UN Security Council -- where Moscow has veto power -- should lead the way out of the conflict.
"The only proper decision would be for an immediate end to military action, and for a political solution through the UN Security Council.
"The military operation in Iraq is becoming bitter and long drawn-out. With every hour the killing and the destruction increases, civilians die, American and British and Iraqi soldiers die," Putin said.
Meanwhile Russia's Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told a visiting delegation from India that the attack on Iraq threatened to lead to "the worst possible humanitarian disaster -- the worst the world has seen."
Adding to the war of words, the Russian defense minister, Sergei Ivanov, told the army's Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper that Moscow remained convinced that the campaign threatened to unravel the global "anti-terror" coalition.
"I am deeply convinced that such forceful actions will inevitably heat up the already explosive situation in the Middle East and the Gulf area," the Russian defense minister said.
But it were the comments by Putin -- who had been seen as taking a more pro-US stance on Iraq than the Russian foreign ministry, before the war was launched -- that appeared the starkest.
For the first time, Putin flatly rejected accusations that Russia's position on Iraq was motivated simply by economic concerns.
Analysts suggest Russia is motivated in defending Iraq because it is keen to preserve its oil interests there, and fears that a US victory in the war could lead to a dramatic drop in global energy prices on which Moscow relies for budget revenues.
Russia "has never based its policy towards Iraq solely on economic factors or interests," Putin said.
"Economics is an important part of politics but if we get political assessments wrong, that leads also to economic losses," Putin said.
But Moscow still betrayed some jitters about its oil interests in the region.
Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin demanded to know during a visit to Paris on Friday "how these (oil) contracts could be put into question" by the United States.
"Russian companies signed contracts in Iraq under international law, and I know that American legal firms helped write these contracts," said Kudrin.
Putin himself however softened his comments when referring to his relations with US President George W. Bush -- whom he supported despite skepticism in Russian military circles following the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
"Our partnership with the Americans gives us the basis for an ongoing, open dialogue," said the Russian leader.
Source: AP | |
