The Russian Foreign Minister Mr Igor Ivanov has poured scorn on claims by the United States that its forces are "liberating" Iraq, saying these assertions are far removed from reality.
|
|
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov speaks at the Federation Council session in Moscow.
|
Ivanov told Russia's upper house of parliament today: "It is already becoming clear how far removed from reality are their attempts to present military action against Iraq as a triumphant march for the liberation of the Iraqi people with minimal casualties and destruction."
Ivanov also cautioned US and British forces advancing on Baghdad against making claims of discovering Iraqi stocks of banned weapons to justify their operations.
"If there are claims by coalition forces about discovering weapons of mass destruction...only international inspectors can make a conclusive assessment of the origin of these weapons," he said.
"No other evaluation and final conclusion can be accepted."
Russia, with France and China, tried unsuccessfully to prevent the US-led offensive against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
All three states argued for more time to be given to UN arms inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Baghdad denies holding any banned arms.
|
Since the onset of US-led military operations, the warm relations between the two former superpower rivals have sharply deteriorated, with President Vladimir Putin denouncing Washington's actions as "a big political mistake".
Ivanov told the Federation Council upper house that Moscow was concerned the United States was "trying to drag Russia into an information war" on Iraq.
"We hope our US partners are responsible about what they are doing and that they don't take steps that could hurt our relations," he said.