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Bolton denied the report
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MOSCOW,
September 13 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Washington is turning
a blind eye to a brutal Russian crackdown on Chechen independence
fighters’ bases in neighboring Georgia in exchange for Moscow not
opposing an attack against its traditional Middle Eastern ally, Iraq,
according to a report on the latest U.S.-Russian agreement.
But
U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International
Security John Bolton denied the report Friday, September 13, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) reported.
"I
don't think there are any quid pro quos to be made with Russia or any
other country," Bolton told reporters at the end of a three-day
visit to Moscow. "I think our argument [for attacking Iraq] is
pretty strong and it stands on its own merit."
He
added that "factual circumstances" were "so
different" in Russia's arguments in favor of a strike on Georgia
and a U.S. attack on Iraq.
Confirming
a U.S. State Department statement Thursday, September 12, berating
Russia for its threat this week to strike a lawless northern Georgian
region near Chechnya, Bolton said: "I don't see this as a
question of deals one way or another."
But
pressed on the subject by reporters, who asked whether the United
States was prepared to strike Iraq even if Russia was not coaxed into
supporting such action, Bolton answered: "No".
"There
are issues and concerns that Russia has and those will be addressed by
the United States," said Bolton, adding that there would be
several more rounds of discussions in the weeks to come.
Bolton
said top U.S. officials would arrive in Russia within the next two
weeks to discuss Moscow's worries about Washington's threats to Iraq,
AFP said.
He
did not say which officials would be coming to Moscow.
Russian
Defense Minister Igor Ivanov and Foreign Minister Sergei Ivanov will
meet their U.S. counterparts Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell in
Washington Friday, September 20, for talks that Moscow says will focus
primarily on Iraq.
Russia
has criticized U.S. threats to launch a military offensive on Iraq and
repeatedly called for a diplomatic solution to the stand-off with the
Baghdad regime, based on a return of U.N. weapons inspectors to Iraq.
In
a key speech before the United Nations Thursday, U.S. President George
W. Bush said he was ready to work with the United Nations on a new
Security Council resolution warning Saddam to comply with past
commitments or face possible military action, AFP said.
"President
Bush put very graphically yesterday why the Council's authority and
indeed integrity is at risk," Bolton said.
"I
think that because of Russia's status as a permanent member, that will
way very heavily in their consideration" about what to do about
Iraq, said Bolton, suggesting that Moscow should be swayed by
Washington's latest arguments in favor of the strike.
Moscow's
initial reaction, however, has suggested that Russia was not too
convinced by Bush.
"As
the Russian leadership has repeatedly stressed, the potential for a
political and diplomatic solution is far from exhausted," the
Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
"There
is real potential to achieve a solution through political means,"
foreign ministry spokesman Boris Malakhov said.
Bush
challenged the U.N. General Assembly on Iraq Thursday, threatening
"unavoidable" action if the world body does not stand behind
the U.S. in its war on Iraq.
After
months of saying Washington was poised to act alone against Iraq,
Bush's tough words amounted to a last warning to Iraq to dispose of
banned chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.
However,
Bush steered clear of mentioning a return of U.N. weapons inspectors
to Iraq, an issue that divides the U.S. Congress and even Bush's
cabinet.
Bush
also failed to present the evidence he pledged earlier that the Iraqi
regime is a threat to the security of its neighbors.
The
U.S. leader said he was ready to work with the United Nations on a
resolution warning Saddam to comply with past commitments or face
possible military action.
The
Russian statement said that Moscow agreed with Bush about the need for
a "concerted common fight against global terrorism", but
insisted the United Nations needed to play a central role in this
process.
"It
must be based on the universally accepted principles and norms of
international law," the ministry spokesman said, adding that
Moscow wanted to see a "strict implementation of the existing
U.N. resolutions on Iraq".
Russia,
which has criticized U.S. threats to Iraq, is seen as a key player
because it has the power to veto decisions within the U.N. Security
Council.
U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday – after Bush’s U.N.
address – that the U.S. President’s speech on Iraq was "not a
declaration of war."
"It
was not a declaration of war. It was a statement to the United Nations
that it is time to act. It is time to do something," Powell said
during a talk at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, a
New York-based think tank.
World
leaders and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan warned Bush not to act
unilaterally without a resolution from the U.N. Security Council.
