Russia raps US over Iraq raids
Wednesday, 2 April, 2003, 10:46 GMT 11:46 UK
BBC News
Baghdad has been subjected to daily bombing raids
Russia has issued a formal diplomatic protest to the United States, saying that air strikes have targeted a residential quarter of Baghdad where its embassy is situated.
US Moscow ambassador Alexander Vershbow was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry to be told that the lives of Russian diplomats had been put in danger.
Such strikes were "unacceptable", a Russian Foreign Ministry statement said.
"The Russian side demanded that the American authorities take urgent and exhaustive measures so that such dangerous and unacceptable incidents are not repeated in the future," the statement said.
The ministry did not report any casualties at the embassy, which has been operating with a skeleton staff since non-essential personnel were evacuated.
The Russian ambassador in Washington, Yuri Ushakov, has made a similar protest.
Baghdad has been subjected to daily bombing raids since 20 March, when the US-led attack on Iraq began.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is opposed to the campaign, having described the US decision to act without securing a second UN resolution specifying military action as a "serious mistake".
The BBC's Nick Walton in Moscow says Mr Putin's position strongly reflects the mood of the majority of Russians.
US relations with China were seriously damaged after jets mistakenly bombed Beijing's embassy in Belgrade during the 1999 Kosovo campaign.
Wednesday, 2 April
BBC News
12:00 GMT 14:00UK
US forces report that B-52 bombers have used a new version of a cluster bomb against an Iraqi tank column in central Iraq; the weapon adapts to wind and weather to hit targets more accurately. |
