Russia: no need for second UN resolution

10.15am update
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Russia: no need for second UN resolution

Staff and agencies
Friday February 7, 2003
The Guardian

Russia today said there was no need for the UN security council to pass a second resolution authorising war with Iraq while opportunities still exist for a political solution to the crisis.

Its foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, said Moscow believed the weapons inspectors should be given more time to avoid the "grave consequences" of conflict.

"We do not see today any grounds for passing a UN resolution that would envisage or sanction the use of force against Iraq," he said after a meeting with the Finnish foreign minister.

"We always underlined that the use of force is an extreme measure, which involves graves consequences for the country and grave international consequences and it should only be applied in extreme situations."

His comments come after the US president, George Bush, declared that "the game is over for Saddam Hussein" and urged allies to join in disarming Iraq.

"The dictator of Iraq is making his choice," he said. "The UN must not back down. All the world can rise to this moment."

Russia is one of the three permanent members of the security council believed to be at present opposed to military action, and especially unilateral military action by the US and its allies.

Mr Ivanov this week gave Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, a carving of a wooden bear walking a tightrope from one tree labelled war to another labelled peace carrying the security council's five permanent members to symbolise his difficult balancing act. If the bear drops one country he will tip over and fall to the ground.

Russia's deputy foreign minister, Yuri Fedotov, today said in an interview with the Interfax news agency that the county would stick to its position but much would depend on a visit by Hans Blix and Mohamed el-Baradei, the UN's chief weapons inspectors, to Baghdad this weekend.

"Further steps of the UN security council on questions of Iraq will depend on the character of the reports," he said.

The BBC has reported that Iraqi government sources are indicating they may grant permission for the use of U-2 spy planes to help the work of the inspectors, one of the key concessions demanded by the UN.

Other signals that Baghdad may be bending under international pressure last night emerged when the Iraqi government allowed weapons inspectors to interview one of its scientists for the first time without government "minders".

Under security council resolution 1441, Iraq is required to grant the inspectors private access to scientists and others associated with its weapons programmes, and to allow them to be taken abroad for interview if the inspectors think it necessary. Until yesterday, this had not happened and Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, cited it in his speech on Wednesday as evidence of Iraq's noncompliance with inspections.

The Baghdad government has denied obstructing the interview process, saying the scientists themselves refused to be interviewed without Iraqi officials present as witnesses.

The US says the scientists are reluctant to talk because they have been threatened with death if they give away any information.

Western diplomats will be trying to determine over the next few days whether it is a token gesture or a real shift away from what they describe as Iraq's "catch us if you can" approach to inspections.


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