Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Speculation, the international conference for the reconstruction of Iraq might include Russia, France and Germany reclaiming some or all of the oil contracts lost before the war. Another reason they voted for the UN resolution?

He also said that Moscow had been pleased that Washington was moving toward supporting Russia’s desire to organize an international conference for Iraq, much like that held for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

-Am

Russia hails better ties with US without giving on Iran
(AFP)

9 June 2004



SAVANNAH, Georgia - Russia on Tuesday welcomed the US-backed UN resolution on Iraq and hailed growing relations with the United States but refused to give ground to Washington over the issue of its nuclear cooperation with Iran.


Russian President Vladimir Putin said the unanimous adoption of the resolution by the UN Security Council --- which coincided with his meeting Bush on the margins of the G8 summit here—marked a ”major step forward” for Iraq.

“Without any exaggeration I would state that it is a major step forward,” Putin told reporters as he and Bush met ahead of the summit’s formal opening.

“This is about a quality change in the status in Iraq and with regard to the presence of the military troops there,” he said. “And this is about a quality change of the impact the United Nations has over the situation in Iraq.”

But, into his congratulatory remarks, he slipped a discrete reference to Moscow’s vehement opposition to the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, and its insistance that Baghdad enjoys true sovereignty when it returns to self-rule at the end of the month.

“If prior to this document, (Iraq) was primarily the burden and responsibility which was upheld by the United States ... it seems now it will be the Iraqi people government themselves who will have the whole spectrum of the sovereignty rights which will be enjoyed by them,” Putin said.

He added that a united international community—not only the United States and its allies—would also play “a major influence” in Iraq.

And, he stressed that it would take “quite a long time” for the resolution to make any meaningful difference on the ground.

A close Putin aide, foreign policy advisor Sergei Prihodko, later refused to say whether Russia was totally satisfied with the US-British resolution, maintaining instead that it had been arrived at after “constructive dialogue and common work” among Security Council members.

He also said that Moscow had been pleased that Washington was moving toward supporting Russia’s desire to organize an international conference for Iraq, much like that held for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

In his comments, Prihodko lauded the dynamism and feeling of ”real comradery” during the meeting between Putin and Bush, noting that one of the US president’s Scottish Terriers had roamed through the informal get-together.

He said Moscow shared US concerns about the protection of intellectual property rights in Russia and he announced that Russia had accepted an invitation to participate in NATO maneuvres in the North Atlantic this fall.

But, in what may prove an onerous sticking point, Prihodko said Russia would stick to its policy of providing support to Iran’s civilian nuclear program, a subject of intense irritation in Washington, which accuses Tehran of secretly trying to develop atomic weapons.

“We supported our position of principle,” he said, but maintained that cooperation would be consistant with guidelines set down by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which will meet this month to once again consider the US allegations.

The United States has long complained about Russia’s intent to sell uranium to power a reactor it is building in Bushehr in southern Iran, urging Moscow to abandon it.

Russia has held firm but in a concession has said it will demand the return of the spent fuel, which can be used to make nuclear weapons.

“We are cooperating with (the Iranians) in the context of our relations with the (IAEA) and to deliver the fuel to the Bushehr reactor, we insist on the need for an agreement for its return,” Prihodko said.

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