Moscow: Stating that the earlier UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions have
given "quite strong mandate" for disarming Iraq, Russian President Vladimir Putin
has told British Premier Tony Blair to focus on systematic weapons inspections,
instead of pushing through a new resolution.
During a telephonic conversation on March 11, Putin told Blair that the reports of
chief weapons inspector Hans Blix and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
director el Baradei "additionally fortified the stand favouring continuation of
inspections in Iraq, which are yielding concrete results," the Kremlin press service
said.
The Russian President spoke in favour of intensification of inspections on a
systematic basis when Blair called him up to discuss the issue.
"The Russian side underscored that resolutions 1284 and 1441 of the UNSC have
already provided United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission
(UNMOVIC) and IAEA with quite strong mandate, which is being successfully
implemented," a statement from Kremlin press service said.
The two leaders also agreed to continue contacts on the Iraq crisis amid Moscow's
threat of a veto against any UNSC resolution authorising use of force against
Baghdad.
Earlier, Moscow had accused the United States and Britain of constantly changing the
rules of the game and cautioned against "export of Democracy" in the same style
as "ex-Soviet Union used to export revolution".
"Everything had started with the need to send back weapons inspectors to Iraq, now
they are talking about a regime change and exporting Democracy to West Asia with
Centuries old traditional societies, just as the ex-Soviet Union used to export
revolution," Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said on March 10.
PTI
