[lbo-talk] Russian ambassador leaves Iraq - and gets fired on?

[Chris Burford]

>From: ChrisD(RJ) (chrisd at russiajournal.com)
>Date: Sun Apr 06 2003 - 04:33:35 EDT
>
>
>Russia reduces staff at its Baghdad embassy, ambassador
>heads out of Iraq
>
>   MOSCOW (AP) - With the U.S. military closing in on
>Baghdad, Russia's ambassador to Iraq is leaving the
>country, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday.
>
>   Russian officials had long ago evacuated most of the
>embassy's staff, but a core team remained, including the
>ambassador.
>
>   "In order to provide security to the embassy's personnel,
>its staff has been reduced to the minimal necessary number
>of employees," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander
>Yakovenko said in a statement.
>
>   He said the Russian ambassador was among those who were
>leaving the country.
>
>   No further details were provided, and it was not
>immediately clear how or when exactly the ambassador
>intended to leave.

concerning the last point, the BBC has just reported, roughly midday GMT, 
that a US plane has fired on some Russian "consular" cars heading towards 
the Syrian border.

But as they have just killed some of their special forces working with the 
Kurds in northern Iraq, and wounded one of the most prestigious BBC 
reporters, John Simpson, it is possible that the word "consular" is 
diplomatic for "ambassadorial"....

No quotable comments were available from Russian sources as of midday 
today, London time.

Chris Burford
London