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Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mao II who wrote (9945)	2/18/2003 5:35:25 PM
From: Kenya AA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25898

Report: Russia begins evacuating citizens from Iraq Tue Feb 18, 9:57 AM ET MOSCOW - Russia has begun evacuating its citizens from Iraq, a news agency reported Tuesday. The ITAR-Tass news agency cited diplomatic sources in Cairo as saying the evacuation had begun. It said more than 1,000 Russian citizens were in Iraq. The Foreign Ministry and several companies working in Iraq said they could not immediately confirm the report. Whether or not to evacuate "is the Foreign Ministry's prerogative," said Dmitry Dolgov, a spokesman for oil company Lukoil. He said a contingency plan coordinated by the Russian Embassy in Baghdad was in place but that he knew of no decision to activate it. Russian media reported that Russian companies held a meeting Tuesday in Baghdad and decided to evacuate. Many foreign embassies earlier pulled out nonessential staff and urged citizens to leave, but Russia, which opposes a military operation and has strong economic ties with Iraq, had so far stuck firm. Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said late last month that there were about 700 Russian "specialists" in Iraq. Tuesday's reports came a day after a delegation of several dozen Russian lawmakers including Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, scholars and journalists arrived in Iraq for a three-day visit intended to highlight their solidarity with the Iraqi people. (sk/mb)