Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov insisted that British and US aircraft should stop bombing Iraq during talks with a visiting Iraqi minister, the foreign ministry said Friday.
Ivanov "underlined that it is essential to bring an end to the bombing of Iraqi territory in the so-called no-fly zones and stop interfering in Iraq's internal affairs" during Thursday's talks, a statement said.
Russia's top diplomat reaffirmed the Russian position that the Iraqi problem must be resolved as quickly as possible "in strict accordance with the principles and standards of international law," the foreign ministry added.
Iraqi Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Khaliq gave the Russian foreign minister a verbal message from Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz, the statement also said.
The United States and Britain maintain planes at bases in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, from which they patrol no-fly zones over southern and northern Iraq established after the 1991 Gulf War.
Baghdad does not recognize the no-fly zones, which are not authorized by any specific United Nations resolution.
Iraq says that British and US aircraft have killed hundreds of civilians -- MOSCOW (AFP)
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