France, Russia Share Close Positions on Iraq Crisis

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, January 25, 2003

France, Russia Share Close Positions on Iraq Crisis

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French President Jacques Chirac and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have "very close" positions on the Iraq crisis, said the French presidential office on Friday evening after the two leaders had a talk on the phone.

Chirac called Putin on Friday evening and the two exchanged views on the disarmament of Iraq, said Chirac's spokeswoman Catherine Colonna.

During the talk, Chirac reaffirmed that France believes the ultimate goal is to disarm Iraq.

"We can not act as if the United Nations weapons inspectors were not doing their job. It is up to them to judge whether their mission has been accomplished," Colonna quoted Chirac as saying.

"Just like Russia, we are waiting with interest the report of Mr. (Hans) Blix and Mr. Mohammed ElBaradei at the UN Security Council on Jan. 27," she said.

Blix, chief UN weapons inspector, and ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), are to report on Monday to the United Nations on the progress of their mission in Iraq.

Putin briefed Chirac on his analysis of the situation and his talks on phone with US President George W. Bush on Thursday, said the French spokeswoman.

As veto-holding permanent members of the UN Security Council, France and Russia are both opposed to unilateral military actions against Iraq.

France and Germany announced on Thursday that they share same positions on Iraq and pledged to make all efforts for a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis. They criticized Washington's plans to launch military operations against Baghdad without a UN mandate.

Putin, Schroeder Stress Common Approach on Iraq

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Friday stressed their "similar approach" to the Iraqi crisis, saying only diplomacy could defuse the standoff, the Kremlin said.

"Both sides stressed the proximity of the approaches of Russia and Germany, standing for the political regulation of the Iraqi problem in the framework of the United Nations," the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

Russia and Germany have repeatedly spoken against unilateral military operation against Iraq.

Schroeder has already ruled out a vote in favor of war at the Security Council, but has not said if Germany would abstain or vote no.

Russia has not yet said how it might vote should there be a Council hearing on the matter.

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