MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on Wednesday warned Washington against launching military action against Iraq, saying that Baghdad's invitation to the top U.N. weapons inspector has opened a peaceful way out of the crisis. "Other means, especially forceful, are inacceptable from the viewpoint of international law and could only exacerbate the already difficult situation," Ivanov told reporters, according to the Interfax news agency.
Russia has hailed Iraq's decision last week to invite chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix and said it came right after a Russian delegation visited Baghdad. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned Baghdad on Tuesday that it must accept the Security Council's terms for the return of weapons inspectors.
"Russia believes it extremely important not to miss the opening opportunities for a political and diplomatic settlement of the situation around Iraq," Ivanov said, adding that Iraq's invitation to Blix had "unequivocally shown that Baghdad is seriously considering a possibility of the U.N. inspectors to Iraq."
Washington has contemplated military action against Iraq, pointing at the threat posed by its efforts to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, but U.S. administration officials insist no decision has been made on whether to invade Iraq.
Russia has strongly opposed possible U.S. military action against Iraq, an old-time ally, and supported its push for lifting the sanctions in hope that it would allow Baghdad to start paying off its dlrs 7 billion Soviet-era debt and help expand trade.
The U.N. sanctions against Iraq, imposed after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990, can be lifted only after international inspectors certify that Baghdad has eliminated its weapons of mass destruction. Iraq claims it has done so, but has not let inspectors into the country since 1998, saying sanctions must be lifted first.
The return of the U.N. monitors to Iraq would open the way to lifting the sanctions which have crippled the Iraqi economy and "had a negative impact on the economic interests of many countries, including Russia," Ivanov said.
/The Associated Press/