UNITED NATIONS, June 25 -- Russia has threatened to veto a U.S.-backed resolution in the Security Council that would revamp the embargo on Iraq and tighten United Nations controls over Baghdad's imports of military-related items, officials said.
Russian Foreign Minister Ivan Ivanov warned U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell in a letter over the weekend that Moscow would block the resolution because it would damage commercial relations with Iraq.
"We see in the new scheme a major threat to Russian trade and economic interests in Iraq," Ivanov wrote. "We cannot allow it to pass."
Powell told reporters today that Washington may not meet its July 3 target for passage of the resolution. If so, it would be the second postponement because of strong opposition from Moscow and Beijing.
Powell said the Russians and others had rejected a U.S. list of "dual use" items -- goods with both a civilian and military application -- that Iraq could not import. "We have been unable to resolve the various technical issues with the list," he said.
I think that Russia's support of removing sanctions on Iraq is paper-thin...don't you think the WTC disater/atrocity (I will not call it a tragedy) caught the Russian's attention? Plus, the Russians are supporting the Afghan rebels...
I'm not sure the Russians still want Afghanistan (they did in the past) but I say we collaborate with the Russians, take out the Taliban and BinLaden and let the Russians have Afghanistan if they want it. While were at it, we should do away with Iraq and Saddam (preferably BEFORE dealing with Afghanistan) and set up some international coalition government...let Russia be involved there too...
The bottome line is, in dealing with the islamic jihad, our caucasian brethren in Russia have more in common with us than the Muslims...