Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, September 09, 2002
War on Iraq May Split Anti-terror Coalition: Russian FM
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Sunday that the possible war conducted by the United States and Britain on Iraq might split anti-terror coalition.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Sunday that the possible war conducted by the United States and Britain on Iraq might split anti-terror coalition.
Attempts to interfere in the domestic affairs of sovereign states under the pretext of combating terrorism "will not only complicate the situation in the region but can also inflict irreparable damage on unity within the framework of the anti-terrorism coalition," he was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.
Ivanov reiterated Russia's stand that the United Nations should remain the leading coordinator of international efforts and the chief author of legal standards to underlie action by all states.
"Only on the basis of international law can our action be effective," he told a news conference in Russia's Vladimir region east of Moscow, where he honored the memory of the first Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Vorontsov.
Last Friday, in a telephone conversation with the US President George W. Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed serious doubts about the justification for an armed campaign against Iraq.