Russia has dealt a potentially serious blow to American attempts to isolate Iraq after it announced a £27 billion trade agreement with Saddam Hussein.
The agreement, which will have to be approved by the United Nations, wraps together dozens of separate deals involving oil, electrical energy, chemical products, irrigation, railroad construction and transport, over the next five years, officials in Moscow said yesterday.
Russian companies already dominate Iraq's limited oil export trade under the UN oil-for-food programme.
Oleg Buklemeshev, a senior deputy to President Putin, confirmed that "the document is being prepared", adding that it was "in line with current international agreements".
The Bush administration shied away from public criticism of Moscow. A White House spokesman said: "We're confident Russia understands its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions and will abide by them."
[but does the shrub administration?]
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