President Clinton has made clear that Russian criticisms of military action against Iraq will not deter the US from launching attacks to enforce UN resolutions.
While insisting that US relations with Russia are "very important", Mr Clinton said that a Russian "nyet" is not "no for the United States under the circumstances".
The President was replying to questions from reporters at a White House ceremony. He said that if there is to be military action "it will be Saddam Hussein's decision not mine".
The US administration was surprised at the public rebuke to Defence Secretry, Mr William Cohen, by his Russian counterpart when they met in Moscow on Thursday. Mr Igor Sergeyev, asked Mr Cohen in front of reporters: "Is America ready for all the possible consequences" of military action, and he warned that it would harm US-Russian military co-operation.
Yesterday, Mr Clinton said he had talked at length with Mr Yeltsin about Iraq and he understood Russian concerns for the region with which it had historical links. But he insisted that his relationship with Mr Yeltsin was "very productive".
Mr Clinton said that he hoped and prayed that President Saddam Hussein would allow UN inspectors access to the sites now declared off limits.
The US Congress has broken up for a 10-day recess without approving a draft resolution supporting the use of force if a diplomatic solution cannot be found. A large bi-partisan majority is ready to approve of force but there is still dissatisfaction over the Administration's longer term strategy towards Iraq and the replacement of Mr Saddam.
AFP reports from Washington:
A detailed military plan for strikes against Iraq has been laid out and US commanders have at their disposal all the weapons they need to carry it out, Gen Henry Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said yesterday.
"We have our objectives laid out, and we know exactly what it will take to do that and we'll know when we've achieved those objectives and we, in fact, could stop at that point," Gen Shelton said.
He insisted that the US has the co-operation it needs from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. He reiterated that the US goal was not to overthrow Mr Saddam. The military option was designed to degrade Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and its ability to threaten its neighbours.
Gen Shelton acknowledged that military force was not a "100 per cent solution or panacea".
He said: "Here we do have a goal, both a political as well as military goals that have been laid out."
In drawing up the military plan, Gen Shelton said the military had gone to great length to avoid civilian casualties, particularly the release of chemical or biological agents in bombings.
He said the US military believes that Iraq has medium-range Scud missiles hidden since the Gulf War, and the Pentagon has responded by moving Patriot and other defensive systems to the region. A Joint Star radar surveillance aircraft will be used to try to track and target any mobile Scud launchers. It is among some 40 combat aircraft on their way to the Gulf, including more B-52 bombers, F-117 stealth fighters, another B-1 bomber, F-16 fighters and three AWACS radar aircraft.