Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov repeated Moscow's warning Friday against an attack on Iraq and urged the United States to lay out the details of its concerns that Saddam Hussein's government is developing weapons of mass destruction.
"If the United States has serious concerns about building and stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, these facts should be presented not only to Russia but to the global community as a whole," the Interfax news agency quoted Ivanov as saying.
He insisted the concerns could be resolved with weapons inspections, saying that "international experts should have the right to freely visit all facilities that trigger questions. A clear answer should be given to indicate whether or not Iraq has stockpiled weapons of mass destruction, be they biological, chemical, nuclear or other." "As far as I know, most countries share this position," he said.
"The implementation of military plans against Iraq would aggravate the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli settlement, in the Persian Gulf zone and in the entire Middle East," he said, according to Interfax.
He, however, suggested Iraq should allow inspections, saying that "procrastinating work in the progress toward a political settlement of the situation surrounding Iraq would trigger statements from those who advocate other solutions."
Meanwhile, U.S. warplanes on Friday attacked a missile guidance radar in a northern "no-fly" zone of Iraq after the radar targeted U.S. and British jets policing the zone, the U.S. military said.
The U.S. European Command said in a brief statement from Incirlik Air Base in Turkey that all Western jets departed the area safely and damage was being assessed to the radar near Irbil after the latest in more than a decade of such exchanges. (Albawaba.com)
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