The world must be governed by international law, not "the rule of the fist",
Russian President Putin said in a televised statement on military action against Iraq. He said no country in the world will be safe if the current system of international security is allowed to collapse. There was no need for war as the UN and weapons inspections had been making progress, he said.
Russia wants the war to end as soon as possible and will work to achieve a solution of the situation that preserves the Iraqi people's legitimate interests and their country's sovereignty, Putin said. The following is the text of the statement, broadcast by Russia TV on 20 March:
Vesti presenter Mariya Sittel: Hello, this is a special edition of Vesti. We
have just received a statement by Vladimir Putin at a meeting in the Kremlin.
Putin: Today the United States started a military action against Iraq. There
are already human casualties and destruction. An entire region finds itself in danger of a large-scale humanitarian and ecological catastrophe. I should
stress straight away that the hostilities are being carried out against world public opinion, against the principles and norms of international law and the UN Charter. This military action cannot be justified by anything: neither by
the accusations that Iraq supports international terrorism - we have never had and we do not have information to support this - nor by the desire to change the political regime in this country, a desire which directly contradicts international law and should be determined only by the citizens of this or any other state. And finally, there was no need for hostilities in order to answer the main question which was raised directly by the international community: namely are there are or are there not weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and if there are, then what should be done and in what period in order to eliminate them.
Furthermore, at the moment the operation started, Iraq did not represent any
danger either to neighbouring states nor to other countries and regions of the world, since, especially after a 10-year blockade, it was a weak country, both in military and economic terms. And apart from that, it did not represent a danger because international inspectors were at work there. On the contrary, recently their work had led to serious positive results.
I would like to point out that the joint work done within the framework of the UN Security Council, including with the United States of America, such as the unanimous passing of Resolution 1441, which did not give any right to use force, but allowed the international inspectors to start their activities again, as well as a range of other measures to influence the Iraqi leadership, had laid the foundations for the disarmament of Iraq by peaceful
means.
With this in mind, however the situation involving Iraq turns out, in the name of Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, I would like to address the UN secretary-general and the international inspectors. I
would like to offer them words of thanks and gratitude. They carried out their duties honestly and responsibly, showing a degree of high professionalism and courage. I'm sure that the international community will still require the services of the international inspectors in future.
Military action against Iraq is a great political mistake. I have already spoken about the humanitarian side of the issue. However, the danger that the current system of international security will collapse causes us no less concern. If we allow international law to be replaced with the rule of the fist, according to which the strongest has the right to do whatever he wants
and is not limited by anything in choosing means to achieve his goals, then one of the basic principles of international law will be called into question - the principle of the inviolability of a state's sovereignty. Then nobody and no country of the world will feel safe. The vast hotbed of instability which has emerged today will grow and cause negative consequences in other regions of the world.
It is for these reasons that Russia insists that military action be ended as
soon as possible. We are still certain that the central role in the resolution of crisis situations in the world, including the one in Iraq, must belong to the UN Security Council.
I would like to emphasize that Russia intends to take a line aimed at returning the situation to the use of peaceful methods and at the achievement of a genuine solution to the Iraq issue on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions. This solution should take into account the legitimate interests
of the Iraqi people, as well as respect for Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
We gathered here to discuss the situation that arose when military actions began, from the point of view of consequences for the Russian economy and our initial and subsequent actions to ensure Russia's security.
Presenter: That was Vladimir Putin's statement on the Iraq situation.