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Russia refuses to send peacekeepers to Iraq
Russia on Monday excluded the possibility of participating in the peacekeeping forces in Iraq. "Weâre too busy helping Iran build their nuclear facilities to spare any other "advisers" at this time." "I do not see any conditions for this," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference in Istanbul after a meeting of the NATO- Russia Council. "We prefer civilian forms of assistance to that country." Like operating Iraqâs oil fields for Saddam. "There are no discussions under way" between Russia and Iraq on military cooperation either, Lavrov said. Something to do with Russiaâs fabulous progress in Chchnya, I suppose. But there are talks between Moscow and Baghdad on closer economic cooperation, including on restoring Iraqâs economy, he said. "Money makes the mare go round." He expressed concern over the lack of an agreement on the status of the multinational armed forces between the forces and the Iraqi interim government. This "may create a dangerous vacuum after the handover of sovereignty to Iraq," he said. (Read: "Our customers next door in Iran are getting squirrelly.") "Under a UN Security Council resolution, the multinational forces are responsible for security in close cooperation with the Iraqi government, which must have a voice in deciding how these forces should act," he said. "Just sign here ..." "It is alarming that until now this point in the latest UN Security Council resolution on Iraq had still not taken the form of the legal language of an agreement on the status of the forces," he said. With the handover of sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government, this gives rise to "a certain legal vacuum, which is undesirable especially in the current conditions in Iraq." Which they have both passively and actively undermined. Lavrov also said the situation in Iraq is becoming increasingly insecure. Those dratted Iranian "We donât believe that use of force can solve the problem," he said. "A political dialogue is needed. The organization of a comprehensive all-Iraq political dialogue with the participation of all political forces, including opposition forces as well, is the way to achieve security." Ah yes, the familiar "political dialogue" routine. Itâs working rather well in Chechnya, isnât it? He said the Iraqi interim government is organizing a national conference next month and has sent invitations to opposition groups. "We believe that all major opposition groups should be invited," he said, adding that Russia supports the Iraqi governmentâs efforts for national unification. (Read: "We want to get our fingers back into the pie.") He also called for "Iraqâs neighbors [to] take part in subsequent steps." Especially Iran. Posted by: Zenster 2004-06-28 |
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