Moscow: Close on the heels of Germany declaring that discovery of Iraqi Missiles did
not mean that Iraq was in "material breach" of UN resolution, Russia on February 13
said the report of UN weapons inspectors to be presented at UN on February 14 need
not be taken as final verdict.
"Moscow proceeds from the assumption that Blix's and El Baradei's reports will be of
an interim nature and that the information they will present should be thoroughly
examined,"
Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said.
"Russia attaches great significance to reports concerning presence of weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq," he said.
The reports will be presented at the UN Security Council on February 14 by Hans Blix,
the head of the UN Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and
Mohammed El Baradei, the Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA).
"Considering that the situation surrounding Iraq is continuing to heat up and calls
for increased attention now, foreign ministers from the permanent UN Security Council
member countries, including Russia, will take part in the upcoming Security Council
session," Yakovenko was quoted as saying by Interfax.
PTI
