British PM to Fly to Russia for Iraq Talks

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, October 10, 2002

British PM to Fly to Russia for Iraq Talks

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British Prime Minister Tony Blair is scheduled to fly to Russia on Thursday for two days of face-to-face talks with President Vladimir Putin on possible United Nations action to force Iraq to give up weapons of mass destruction.

Blair is to spend Thursday night at Putin's country house at Zavidovo, two hours of drive north of Moscow, with more talks and a joint press conference to follow on Friday, a BBC report said.

The trip is to take place while intense consultations are beingmade among the five permanent UN Security Council members on a possible new UN resolution to back up UN arms inspectors when theygo back into Iraq.

"We regard Russia very much as our partner in this issue and I am hopeful that we can resolve it in such a way that we meet the concerns of everybody," Blair told the BBC on the eve of his departure.

"In a sense I think people are agreed on the basic principles, but we need to discuss the right way to see them implemented," he said.

The United States and Britain, which is US President George W. Bush's closest ally on the possible war against Iraq, initiated a new UN resolution that would threaten an automatic war against Iraq if Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein refuses to allow full and freeUN weapon inspections.

But Russia and France are strongly against a tough action on Iraq.

Blair has also signaled, however, that Britain could live with a French preference for one resolution on arms inspectors, followed by another -- if necessary -- authorizing the use of force.

"We're working for a new resolution. We believe it's possible to get one. I certainly want this to be done with the maximum international support," Blair said.

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