UNITED NATIONS: Russia will consider any military action by the US and its allies against Iraq without UN approval as illegitimate and unjustified, Russian Defence Minister Mr Sergei Ivanov said yesterday.
"If military actions begin against Iraq without the approval of the UN, we will consider them as illegitimate and unjustified," Interfax-AVN news agency quoted him as saying.
Commenting on the US military build-up in the Gulf, Mr Ivanov said such preparations could be a way of "brandishing weapons to apply psychological pressure on Baghdad, or could also be real preparation for military action against Iraq.
"I imagine the American leadership, in taking its decision, will base itself on the conclusions of the (UN) international arms inspectors and on the examination of the question by the Security Council," he added.
The inspectors would have to deliver an extremely clear and definitive verdict on the presence or not of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Mr Ivanov stressed.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mr Vyacheslav Trubnikov said accusations of hidden weapons made against Iraq "serve no purpose, and only strengthen the fear around the world that the issue of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction is being used to cover up other aims".
Without mentioning the US by name, Mr Trubnikov said: "If somebody possesses genuine information on the presence in Iraq of forbidden weapons, or the continuation of attempts to build them, it would be logical to submit such information to the UN's inspection agencies - the Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Meanwhile, the Boston Globe reported that US Special Forces and Central Intelligence Agency agents have been working inside Iraq for months to lay the groundwork for a possible US invasion.
The Globe, citing intelligence officials and military analysts who claim first-hand knowledge of the operations, said the American teams are searching for Scud missile launchers, monitoring oil fields, marking minefield sites and helping US pilots bomb Iraqi air-defence systems.
The report said Jordanian, British and Australian commandos have, on occasion, joined the Americans.
In Iraq, inspection by UN arms experts centred on the compound housing Iraq's own arms Monitoring Directorate, provoking criticism from the directorate's chief Gen Hussam Mohammed Amin and the visiting Iraqi UN Ambassador Mohammed al-Douri.
Iraqi officials said the inspectors were focused on the Al Basil Company at the complex but witnesses said UN inspectors closed the main gate and blocked the entrance to the complex.
For more than six hours, UN experts stopped people and cars inside the complex, filmed cars, and searched vehicles and personnel.
In Israel, the armed forces test-fired an Arrow missile interceptor, preparing to defend the Jewish state against any attack by Iraq in the event of a US-led war in the Gulf.
In Baghdad, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein announced plans to make a "pan-Arab and historic" speech to the Iraqi people this morning to mark Army Day.