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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: paul_philp who wrote (69465)	1/28/2003 11:12:59 AM
From: michael97123	Respond to of 281500

Support for ‘tougher’ Iraq options Russia changes stance as U.S. prepares to unveil evidence A member of the Iraqi National Monitoring Directorate, left, walks near U.N. weapons inspectors during their visit to the General Company for Agricultural Equipment in Baghdad on Tuesday. SECRETARY OF STATE Colin Powell will unveil “broad evidence” next week against Saddam, including new information about ties to the al-Qaida terror network, his weapons program and efforts to hide his arsenal underground and in mobile facilities, a senior Bush adviser said late Monday. Powell had hinted at the disclosure in an interview with an Italian newspaper Monday. “The United States possesses several pieces of information which come from the work of our intelligence that show Iraq maintains prohibited weapons,” Powell told Corriere della Sera. “Once we have made sure it can be done safely, I think that in the next week or soon after we can make public a good part of this material,” he said. On Monday, chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix told the Security Council that Iraq has yet to demonstrate a “genuine acceptance” of the need to disarm, although he acknowledged that the Iraqis have cooperated on a practical level with monitors. In a boost for the United States, Blix’s report appeared to sway at least one permanent council member. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Moscow could soften its demand for a diplomatic solution if Baghdad hampers U.N. weapons inspectors. Putin said inspectors have not reported obstacles to their work in Iraq and diplomatic measures to resolve the crisis have not been exhausted. But if Baghdad creates future difficulties, he said, Russia could move closer to the U.S. position on Iraq. “If Iraq begins to make problems for the work of the inspectors, then Russia may change its position and agree with the United States on the development of different, tougher U.N. Security Council decisions,” Putin said during a visit to Ukraine. The Russian leader reiterated the Kremlin’s emphasis on the need for all disputes to be resolved on the basis of international law and through the means provided by the United Nations. As a permanent Security Council member, Russia is one of five countries with a veto. Opposition by any permanent member would scuttle U.S. efforts to win U.N. backing for a military campaign. While he stressed diplomatic means must still be pursued, Putin’s comment, which came in answer to a question following an address at a university in Kiev, stood out against repeated Russian statements emphasizing opposition to the use of force. Still, Putin offered cautious words as he described unilateral pressure by the United States to act on Iraq. “How we build the building of international security in the new conditions — this is a more important question than Iraq,” Putin said. msnbc.com