Moscow: Following the Bush-Blair "war council" in Belfast, Russian President
Vladimir Putin is summoning a "counter-war council" in St Petersburg this weekend to
intensify diplomatic efforts for post-war Iraq dispensation.
If everything goes well, French President Jacques Chirac, German leader Gerhard
Schroeder and UN General Secretary Kofi Annan will attend the meeting.
According to the Kremlin Press Service, Chirac is to visit Russia's former imperial
capital on April 11-12.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will also be in town on these dates.
Putin has also extended his invitation to the UN General Secretary Kofi Annan to pay
a "working visit" of St Petersburg on April 12, the Kremlin added.
Chirac and Schroeder are Putin's allies in the UN Security Council, which opposed
the unilateralism of the US-led anti-Iraq coalition.
PTI
