The American poodle gets a well deserved public dressing down from Putin, and a rubbishing of his dossier of fabrications.
Putin Rejects Blair’s Charges Against Iraq
Russia turned down a bid by British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday to secure backing for a tough U.N. resolution on Iraq and dismissed his charges that Baghdad held weapons of mass destruction. But President Vladimir Putin , speaking after talks at a country hunting lodge with the British leader, left open the possibility of supporting an “acceptable” measure to ensure that weapons inspectors could work properly in Iraq. Blair, accompanied by his wife Cherie, had hoped to gain Moscow’s support for a U.S.-drafted proposal.
Putin, reluctant to back Washington against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein , bluntly said Moscow had no proof that Baghdad had accumulated chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. “(Russia) has not received persuasive proof from its partners of such weapons in Iraq,” Putin told a joint news conference at Zavidovo, 125 km (75 miles) northwest of Moscow. “This thesis is confirmed by information sent by the CIA to the U.S. Congress.”
He said Russia saw no need to approve any new Security Council resolutions, but would consider a new proposal if it was necessary to help inspectors, which Iraq has agreed to readmit with full access to the country. “…We need to take account of the negative experience of the previous work of U.N. inspectors,” Putin said. “In this regard, together with our partners, we are ready to seek out acceptable decisions to ensure without any doubt the proper work of inspectors in Iraq.”
RUSSIA WANTS CONSULTATIONS
U.N. arms inspectors were sent to destroy Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction after U.S.-led allied forces drove it from Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War. The inspectors left Iraq in 1998 ahead of a U.S.-British air assault to punish Baghdad for not cooperating with them. Deputy Foreign Ministry Yuri Fedotov, responsible for Iraq, rejected the U.S. proposal, which would give inspectors sweeping powers backed by a threat of military action. He said Russia, with a veto on the Security Council, had to be consulted. “If a new decision is to be worked out, it must reflect the approach of all U.N. Security Council members, including Russia,” he told Interfax news agency after the talks ended.
Though Moscow has reoriented its foreign policy behind the United States since last year’s September 11 attacks, it has disagreed with any suggestion that a new resolution was needed to resume the work suspended when inspectors left Iraq in 1998. But Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov this week pledged to support any proposal “aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the activity of the international inspectors.” Blair, who has actively supported U.S. calls for coordinated military efforts against Iraq, said the two sides had agreed on the need to return monitors as fast as possible. “There may be different perspectives about how sure we can be about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction,” Blair said. “The stronger and clearer the signal the international community gives…the less likely conflict will be.” Hawks in Washington have demanded that Saddam be removed from power, regardless of any new weapons search program. Blair, Washington’s closest ally, is insisting the U.N. route is the way forward, without completely ruling out unilateral military action if Saddam fails to comply.
UK DISCOUNTS PUTIN’S WEAPONS COMMENTS
A Blair spokesman discounted Putin’s comments on Iraq’s alleged weapon stocks and defended London’s dossier last month which officials say proved Iraq had chemical and biological arms and was willing to use them. “We stand by the dossier we put out 100 percent,” he said. Russia’s opposition to U.S.-led strikes on Iraq has been widely linked in part to efforts to recover billions of dollars in debts run up by Iraq during the Soviet era. Blair denied before the talks that he sought to establish Moscow’s price for cooperation with the United Nations.
Putin also said that Russia had set no such price. “I would ask you not to perceive our meeting as a bargaining place. I have not invited them (the Blairs) to an Oriental bazaar,” he said.