Apr 9 2004 12:10PM U.S. pullout from Iraq would lead to civil war - Russian Defense Ministry MOSCOW. April 9 (Interfax) - The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq would inevitably lead to a civil war, a high-ranking Russian Defense Ministry source told Interfax on Friday.
"The United States has reached a deadlock. The situation in Iraq is continuing to deteriorate, but Washington is well aware of the fact that it cannot pull out its troops since this would inevitably lead to a civil war in the country," the source said.
"The Shiite front will continue to expand and the situation will continue to deteriorate, leading to a civil war and Iraq's division into three areas - Shiite, Suni and Kurd," he said.
"Replacing the occupation forces in Iraq with UN peacekeepers will not improve the situation. UN troops wearing blue helmets would also be killed. Iraqi guerrillas do not differentiate between the foreign contingents coming to the country," the source said.
"Only a legitimate Iraqi government, supported by at least a majority of the country's population, would be able to bring the situation back to normal," the source said, adding that Washington plans to hand over power to the Iraqi transitional government on June 30.
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