Top Russian and UN diplomats agreed here Friday that tensions surrounding Iraq could only be resolved within existing UN Security Council resolutions.
But the two sides appeared to fail to reconcile their different interpretations of so-called no-fly zones over Iraq, a vexed question likely to be a focus of Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov's visit to Baghdad next week.
Ivanov told Hans Blix, the visiting top UN official on Iraq, that Moscow believed stability could only be restored to the Persian Gulf within the framework of UN Security Council resolution 1284.
That resolution, adopted in December last year, exhaustively redefined the 10-year-old sanctions regime -- adopted in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait -- in a bid to persuade Baghdad to allow the United Nations to resume inspections of its weapons-manufacturing facilities.
It was drafted by Britain and adopted by a vote of 11-0 in the council, with China, France, Russia and Malaysia abstaining.
"In the end, both Russia and the UN Commission for Iraq have the same goal -- to find a solution to the problem of Iraq that would provide security and stability in the Persian Gulf," Russian news agencies quoted Ivanov as saying.
Blix responded that all sides involved wanted successfully to conclude Iraqi arms inspections, stressing that sanctions against Iraq may only be lifted if it complies, as 1284 says, Moscow news reports said.
Russia has consistently argued that the sanctions regime against its strategic trading and geopolitical partner has either to be re-evaluated or lifted completely.
The West meanwhile has been vexed by the Russian flagship airline Aeroflot's resumption of regular flights to Baghdad.
Both France and Russia argue that the air embargo on Iraq does not cover private non-commercial flights.
Washington and London meanwhile insist all flights must be approved by the UN sanctions committee.
Several Russian deputies and trade executives have already visited Baghdad since Saddam International Airport reopened in August.
Underlining the disagreement further, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the "tight and multi-faceted" relations existing between Moscow and Baghdad when he met Iraq's new ambassador Mozher Al-Duri on Thursday -- MOSCOW (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
