Russia: War against Iraq illegal
Nations, lawmakers weigh in with support or protest of war on Iraq
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, speaking to the media in Moscow on Monday, said existing U.N. Security Council resolutions give no one any legal right to launch a strike on Iraq.
March 17 — Following the decision by the United States and Britain to abandon diplomacy and gird for battle with Iraq, lawmakers and governments around the world started lining up to support or oppose the likely war. Russia called Monday for last-minute attempts to solve the crisis peacefully, saying any resort to force would be both a mistake and illegal.
RUSSIA HAS ALIGNED itself with France and Germany in calling for further U.N. arms inspections to ensure that Iraq is free of what the United States says are illegal weapons. Like France, a fellow permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, it has threatened to veto any new resolution endorsing military action.
President Vladimir Putin, speaking before the United States and Britain said they would no longer seek a vote for a new resolution endorsing force, said any approach other than peaceful disarmament would be a mistake.
“We would like to resolve it through political and diplomatic means,” he told reporters. “I am convinced that any other solution would be a mistake.”
Putin, who has made infrequent statements at home on the crisis, said war “will not only bring about human casualties but also destabilize the international community in general.
“There are 20 million Muslims living in Russia. We cannot afford not to consider their opinion, and we fully share their alarm,” he added.
Both Washington and Britain say military action now against Iraq would be legal.
But Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, speaking after the abandonment of Washington’s bid to seek U.N. endorsement for war, said existing U.N. Security Council resolutions gave no one any legal right to launch a strike on Iraq.
“We believe the use of force against Iraq, especially with reference to previous resolutions of the U.N. Security Council, has no grounds, including legal grounds,” Ivanov told reporters.
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