MOSCOW, March 18 (Reuters) - Russia on Tuesday fought to stop its new-found partnership with the United States going off the rails over Iraq but admitted their deep differences could destroy the anti-terror coalition binding them together.
Speaking by telephone with President George W. Bush as U.S. forces girded for action, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin said he regretted Bush's 48-hour ultimatum to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to go into exile or face war.
A Kremlin account of their conversation also said it was stressed, after the
failure of diplomacy, that "in any situation the United Nations and its Security Council will be called upon to play a central role in upholding international peace and stability."
The Kremlin said the two men had stressed the need to keep talking in the coming days, underscoring Putin's resolve to preserve his relationship with Bush through the crisis ahead.
There were, however, sharp words from Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and parliament put off a vote to ratify a key bilateral nuclear arms treaty, further signalling Russian anger at Washington's rush towards military action.
"Unfortunately today, in connection with the looming threat of war against Iraq, the unity of the international anti-terrorist coalition is under threat," Ivanov said.
"Naturally, having made this choice, the United States also assumes responsibility for the consequences of their actions," he said, echoing anti-war ally French President Jacques Chirac.
"It is obvious that any resort to force is fraught with numerous deaths, large-scale destruction and consequences that go beyond this region," he told a conference
Ivanov, who then left for a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York, said the crisis "can and must be solved" diplomatically.
BACKING FOR ANTI-TERROR COALITION
It was Putin's swift backing for the U.S.-led international coalition against terror immediately after the September 11, 2001 airliner attacks on U.S. cities that led to the new strategic partnership between the former superpower rivals.
With an eye to long-term gains for Russia's economy and its place in the world, Putin proceeded to remove irritants in ties and forged close relations with Bush. He then backed the U.S. campaign to oust Afghanistan's hardline Taliban authorities.
The Russian parliament, angry at what it regarded as a U.S. humiliation of Russia over Iraq, put off a vote to ratify the Moscow treaty to slash nuclear arsenals. The State Duma lower house had been scheduled to vote on the pact on Friday.
But Duma officials said the vote had been postponed because of the U.S. push
for military action, with no new date fixed. Some members said the pact's fate now hinged on events in Iraq.
"We are standing on the verge of the Third World War and the consequences of
the beginning of military action in Iraq are to a large extent unpredictable," said Duma official Sergei Shishkaryov. "Everything will depend on how the situation in Iraq develops."
The treaty, agreed last May by Putin and Bush, calls on the two powers to cut their strategic nuclear stocks to between 1,700 to 2,200 each, from about 6,000 now.
The U.S. Senate unanimously approved the treaty on March 6, a move widely seen as part of a U.S. diplomatic effort to win Russian support for a tougher line against Iraq.
Russian religious leaders returning to Moscow on one of the last flights out
of Baghdad told of residents remaining calm.
"People are utterly calm," said Feofan, Orthodox Bishop of Magadan on Russia's Pacific coast.
"What was striking was that women, children, the elderly -- the mosques are full. Everyone is asking the same question. Who are they fighting against? And who gave them this right?"