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

To: Brumar89 who wrote (13869)	2/28/2003 8:54:17 AM
From: Ed Huang	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25898

Shall we preempt strike on Russia first? --------------------------------------------- Russia raises Iraq veto threat Last Updated: Friday, 28 February, 2003, 12:05 GMT Ivanov: Political means should be used Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has said Moscow is opposed to any new United Nations Security Council resolution which would lead to war in Iraq. He indicated that Russia was ready to use its power of veto at the council if necessary. Mr Ivanov was speaking during a visit to China - another permanent member of the Security Council which has spoken out against war. Meanwhile the leaders of two of the countries sponsoring a second resolution, the UK and Spain, met in Madrid, with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair saying the authority of the UN was "on the line" over Iraq. Speaking to the BBC earlier, Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio said she thought the resolution could still be achieved. 'Unhelpful' comments But Ms Palacio also described as unhelpful the tough stance taken by hawks in Washington over European unwillingness to back military action against Iraq. Blair and Aznar are backing a second UN resolution She appeared to make an attack on United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who several weeks ago described countries such as France and Germany which opposed the US position as the "old Europe". "Some sentences from some responsibles in the US Government haven't helped us within Europe and have created a bit of a resentment, and this is never a good issue," she said. However, Mr Aznar tried to play down his foreign minister's comments, saying that earlier statements he had made about defence ministers talking too much were not directed at anyone in particular. Overt threat During his Beijing visit, Mr Ivanov told reporters that his country would not support any resolution which could, directly or indirectly, open the way to resolving the Iraq crisis by force. And he made an overt threat that Russia would use its veto, if it was in the interests of "international stability". We have all the conditions to resolve this problem by political means, Mr Ivanov said, and the international community cannot lose that chance. The BBC's Jacky Rowland in Moscow says such comments - along with the sustained campaign against war by France and Germany - are intended to put the squeeze on the US as it presses for a new UN resolution. But Russia would not lightly split the Security Council on this or any other issue. That was underlined in a conversation on Thursday between President George W Bush and the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. The two men agreed to find a mutually acceptable solution to the crisis, working through the Security Council. The Russians are aware that it is best to work with the Americans through international institutions, rather than take a confrontational approach which could nudge Washington into unilateral action. news.bbc.co.uk