Posted on 04/02/2003 1:08:40 PM PST by PhiKapMom
Russia Protests U.S. Strikes Near Its Iraq Embassy
Wednesday, April 02, 2003 3:43 p.m. ET
By Clara Ferreira-Marques
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia called in the U.S. ambassador to Moscow on Wednesday to protest against air strikes it said hit Baghdad's residential districts and endangered the lives of diplomats still working at its embassy in Iraq.
Russian President Vladimir Putin rammed home Moscow's sharp criticism of the Iraq campaign, saying deaths in the campaign justified its position. But he said it was not to Moscow's advantage to see a U.S. defeat and repeated his call for the matter to be placed again before the United Nations.
Russia's high-level diplomatic protest dealt a fresh blow to strained ties between the Cold War-era rivals hours ahead of their first face-to-face meeting since the U.S.-led drive to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein began two weeks ago.
Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov meets Secretary of State Colin Powell in Brussels on Thursday for talks requested by Putin and President Bush.
Ivanov then flies to Paris for a Friday meeting with his French and German counterparts. France and Germany, like Russia, have opposed the U.S.-led invasion.
In a toughly worded statement, Moscow said air strikes on Wednesday had hit the Baghdad district in which its embassy was located.
"The Russian side demanded that American authorities take urgent and exhaustive measures to prevent such dangerous and unacceptable incidents in the future," the Foreign Ministry said after U.S. envoy Alexander Vershbow had been summoned.
"The safety of personnel of the Russian diplomatic representation was in immediate danger."
Russia, which has long had close economic ties with Iraq, is among the few countries not to have evacuated embassies. Twenty-six staff remain, according to Russian news agencies.
RUSSIA'S INTERESTS
Putin, speaking in Tambov, south of Moscow, said deaths in the campaign "confirmed that the Russian position is correct."
But, in comments broadcast on television, he also said: "It is not in Russia's interest to see the United States defeated. What is in our interest is to see this issue put back within the framework of the United Nations. ... The sooner this happens, the better it will be for all countries involved in this conflict."
Russia has become increasingly strident in its criticism despite the onset of warm relations during Bush's mandate.
A U.S. Embassy spokesman said Vershbow told Russia that the strikes on Baghdad used precision weapons and were directed only at Iraqi military targets.
The spokesman dismissed suggestions that friendship between Washington and Moscow would be damaged by differences over Iraq, though he said there had been some "bumps in the road."
"Bilateral relations are going to weather this storm," he said.
Among irritants since the start of the attack are U.S. accusations that Russian firms sold Iraq banned military technology, including electronic jamming equipment and night vision goggles. Moscow denies the allegations.
The new-found friendship -- sealed by Kremlin backing for the U.S. war on terror after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks -- has also been soured by Russian suspicion that it has little chance of securing oil interests in Iraq if Saddam is removed.
"Of course, our relations are experiencing some strain at the moment because of disagreements over U.S. military action in Iraq," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said. "We are, however, determined to solve these disagreements on the basis of the partnership we have developed."
Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited.
Translation: "Even though we support and prop-up tyrants and butchers, we still need US aid."
Don't sweat it, Ivan. Just consider it our absentee ballot to the U.N. Security Counsel
If Saddam is still alive, he's in the basement of the Russian embassy being treated by Russian surgeons. The Russian embassy is where the war will end, I think.
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