RUSSIA: Russia reiterated its opposition to a potential American attack on Iraq yesterday, while urging Baghdad to co-operate fully with international inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction that Washington says it is hiding, Daniel McLaughlin, in Moscow
President Vladimir Putin, in a statement issued with the visiting Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, said the two nations "emphatically oppose the unilateral use of force or the threat of force in violation of the United Nations Charter, as well as interference in the internal affairs of other states".
Both leaders said "a comprehensive settlement of the Iraq situation must be reached through political and diplomatic efforts," emphasising "the importance of continuing intensive work with the leadership of Iraq in order to encourage them to co-operate with the UN".
The statement came as part of a cool Russian reaction to US Secretary of State, Colin Powell's presentation to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, when he offered declassified information that he said proved Iraq was "concealing their efforts to produce more weapons of mass destruction".
Speaking after the UN session in New York, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Mr Powell's report "included numerous specific data that would require serious consideration by experts," but said it was up to the arms inspectors to verify the information and report back to the Security Council at a planned February 14 meeting.
"It is important for Iraq to offer its full co-operation during this period and thus open up opportunities for a political settlement," Mr Ivanov told Russian national television, adding that "opportunities for (a peaceful resolution) exist and have not been exhausted any talks about declaring war on Iraq would be premature."
Russia, which has close links with the Iraqi oil sector and hopes to recoup from Baghdad some $8 billion in Soviet-era debt, insists that the weapons crisis be resolved through the UN Security Council, where Moscow holds a veto.
Russian parliamentarians also cast a sceptical eye over Mr Powell's intelligence dossier,
Dmitri Rogozin, head of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, called some of the US allegations "somewhat fantastic". "I am surprised that the inspectors have not discovered these arsenals, particularly since this information was obtained a few years ago, according to Powell," Mr Rogozin told Interfax news agency.
After meetings in the Kremlin, Pakistani President, General Pervez Musharraf rejected US claims that Iraq's embassy in Islamabad served as a liaison point between Baghdad and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
"I haven't heard entirely what he said, General Musharraf told reporters, referring to Mr Powell. "I have to analyse it. But if he said it, it is certainly not the truth."