The US on Monday welcomed the impending visit to Russia of Kim Jong-il, North Korea's leader, and played down any rift between Washington and Moscow over a recent Russian business deal with Iraq.
US officials said Russia remained one of its strongest allies in the war against terrorism and that Washington expected Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, to send the same message as the US to the North Korean leader.
Russia raised concerns among some analysts after it agreed to sign a $40bn economic deal with Baghdad. But Philip Reeker, US State Department spokesman, said on Monday: "It does not appear to be anything that is not completely consistent with United Nations Security Council resolutions."
A Russian foreign ministry spokesman also played down the deal, saying the document being prepared contained no cash figure for contracts promised to Russian companies, and that no date for its signature had been set. He said the deal would be "completely in accordance with the requirements of the sanctions regime currently in force. . . ."
The deal was an attempt by Baghdad to win Russia's agreement to use its veto in the Security Council if Washington tried to gain UN support for a move against Iraq, analysts said. "Iraq is now using every possible means to ward off an American operation, and amongst other things Baghdad wants to secure the support of Russia," said Vyacheslav Nikonov, a political scientist.
News of the deal came just a month after Moscow disclosed it would help Iran build five nuclear reactors, in addition to one already under construction. Following US criticism that the reactors could be used for a nuclear weapons programme, Russia modified its stance, saying the deal would depend on political factors. Russian and Iranian officials are due to hold talks on non-proliferation in Moscow from today, at which US complaints are likely to be discussed.
This means Russia will have hosted in close succession representatives of each of the countries the US has branded members of an "axis of evil". This has led some to speculate about an emerging rift between Moscow and Washington at a time when the US is seeking Moscow's support on issues including a possible attack against Iraq.
But analysts say that if Russia could coax North Korea into becoming more open and reasonable, Moscow could reap big diplomatic dividends.
As for economic deals with Iraq and Iran, some see them as Russia's way of preparing to bow later to US wishes while arguing it has large economic interests in Iraq that must be protected if Saddam Hussein goes.
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