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Russia:
No Evidence Iraq Has Weapons of Mass Destruction
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The U.N. Charter does not say the U.N. can change regimes: Yastrzhembsky
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LONDON,
October 10 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A senior aide to Russian
President Vladimir Putin has said on the eve of a visit to Moscow by
British Prime Minister Tony Blair that so far the international
community has seen no evidence that Iraq has weapons of mass
destruction, The Times daily reported Thursday, October
10.
“That
includes the well-known document published in London”, Sergei
Yastrzhembsky, Putin’s special aide for Chechnya, was quoted by The
Times as telling journalists in Moscow.
Yastrzhembsky
was referring to a dossier published by the British government last
month which claimed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein might be only a year
or two away from possessing a nuclear bomb and could deploy chemical and
biological weapons in 45 minutes, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
“You
could call it PR support for possible strikes,” Yastrzhembsky was
quoted as saying.
Russians
had little sympathy for Saddam, Yastrzhembsky added, but “the U.N.
Charter does not say the U.N. can change regimes.”
Blair
was to travel to Russia later Thursday for two days of face-to-face
talks with Putin.
Russia
said Tuesday it was ready to support a new U.N. resolution on Iraq that
would make weapons inspections more effective in order to lift
international concerns over Baghdad’s military program, although it
was still unwilling to support a U.S. bid to draft a resolution that
would include the threat of force should Baghdad fail to open up all its
sites to the U.N. team.
“If
proposals are submitted to the U.N. Security Council that raise the
effectiveness of weapons inspectors in Iraq, we will support them,”
the Interfax news agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov as
saying.
At
the same time, Ivanov did not confirm a statement from one of his
deputies issued earlier that said Russia was ready to back a French
proposal for a two-stage ultimatum against Saddam’s regime.
Russia, which is
one of five permanent U.N. Security Council members with veto power, had
previously argued that checks on Iraq's weapons program could be
effectively launched under terms of existing resolutions.
The
Times also reported that Blair had given his clearest
signal yet that Britain would back America in destroying Saddam’s
weapons of mass destruction, with or without the support of Russia and
other members of the United Nations Security Council.
Blair
has repeatedly emphasized that he wants to work through the U.N. But the
Times reported that he told the BBC World Service: “That
(the U.N. route) is our preference but nobody should be in any doubt
that if it isn’t dealt with in that way, it has got to be dealt with
differently.”
He
added that while war was not inevitable, Saddam’s weapons of mass
destruction would be removed “one way or another”.
Blair
is to spend the night at Putin’s country dacha at Zavidovo, a one-time
hunting ground for Soviet Red Army commanders, two hours north of
Moscow, with more talks, and a joint press conference, to follow on
Friday, October 11.
The
trip is taking place against a backdrop of intense consultations between
the five permanent U.N. Security Council member states on a new
resolution to back up U.N. arms inspectors when they go back into Iraq.
The
United States and Britain are pressuring the other members of the
security council to have a single resolution that would threaten an
automatic recourse to force if Saddam refuses to allow full and free
inspections.
Blair
has signaled, however, that Britain could live with a French preference
for one resolution on arms inspectors, followed by another, if
necessary, authorizing the use of force.
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