Russia Starts Diplomatic War with US
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov delivered a speech at the Federation Council on Wednesday. It can be concluded from his report that Russia has started a diplomatic war with the United States.
“Now, in purely psychological terms, it is not the best moment for ratifying a treaty on strategic weapons reductions” between Russia and the United States, although it is in Russia’s best interests and should be ratified, the Foreign Minister said. According to Mr. Ivanov, “its ratification can be delayed” in the present situation, and efforts should be focused on stopping military actions in Iraq. “We can return to the ratification of the agreement after the settlement of the Iraqi issue returns to the framework of the UN Security Council,” he added.
The Foreign Minister said Russia had sent a formal request to the United States asking Washington to give legal grounds for its demand that other countries close Iraqi embassies and sever diplomatic relations with Baghdad. Mr. Ivanov noted that the US had not yet replied.
According to him, the danger of solving the Iraqi crisis by force is that “illegal actions lead to other illegal actions, and one link in this chain is the US’ demand that other nations sever diplomatic ties with Iraq, close its embassies and freeze Iraqi bank accounts”.
Settling the situation around Iraq, “we should remember that we are talking not about Saddam Hussein’s regime but about a sovereign state and a member of the UN,” Mr. Ivanov remarked. In this respect, he believes that the US challenged not only Iraq but the entire international community. The Foreign Minister reiterated that the settlement of the Iraqi crisis should return to the framework of the UN Security Council, and countries should seek diplomatic solutions. It is not ruled out that such a sharp-worded statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry was prompted by Washington’s accusations that Russia supplied weapons to Iraq in violation of UN sanctions.
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