Schroeder says no to war on Iraq, Chirac urges Baghdad to capitalize on the "last chance"

PUSHKIN, Russia, November 22 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.S. President George W. Bush and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin warned Iraq Friday, November 22, it must comply completely and unreservedly with a U.N. disarmament ultimatum or "face serious consequences."

Although Bush has repeatedly said that he will wage war to disarm Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by force if necessary, Putin said the United States must not go it alone, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

"We do believe that we have to stay within the framework of the work being carried out by the United Nations," the Russian president told reporters during a joint appearance. "We can achieve a positive result."

The two leaders spoke after over an hour of private talks at the gilded Catherine Palace outside Putin's snow-dusted hometown of Saint Petersburg following a historic NATO enlargement summit.

"We call on Iraq, in strict compliance with UNSC (U.N. Security Council) resolution 1441, to cooperate fully and unconditionally in its disarmament obligations or face serious consequences," they said in a joint statement.

The statement, echoing a similar endorsement by NATO leaders meeting in Prague to invite seven former communist states as new members, omitted any endorsement of military action to disarm Saddam Hussein.

Bush flew from Prague to the meeting hoping to soothe Moscow's worries over NATO's widest-ever expansion, assure Putin that Russian economic interests in Iraq will be "honored" in the event of war, and push for a peaceful end to the conflict in Chechnya.

On NATO enlargement, Putin said Russians "do not believe this was necessitated by the existing facts."

Still, Putin said, "We hope to have positive development of our relations with all NATO countries," adding that he "did not exclude the possibility of expanding our cooperation with the alliance."

On the eve of his visit, Bush said he would work to reassure Moscow that any attack on Iraq would leave Russian economic interests there -- lavish oil contracts and eight billion dollars owed for military supplies -- unharmed.

"We have no desire to run the show, to run the country," Bush told NTV television.

"We understand Russia has got an interest in there, as do other countries, and of course its interests will be honored."

Putin said Friday that Russia was prepared to expand its cooperation with the United States in a global "anti-terrorism" campaign.

"We should not give anyone who engages in terror -- or supports terrorism -- a single chance," said Putin.

"At the same time we must also not forget who finances terrorism," added Putin, who shook up Russia's political establishment by giving unprecedented support for the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan following the September 11 strikes of last year.

In an unexpected shift in Russian foreign policy, Putin also appeared to point at least part of the blame for the attacks on groups operating out of Saudi Arabia.

Sixteen of the 19 suspects involved in the September 11 attacks came from Saudi Arabia, said Putin, adding: "We must remember this."

He said Russian military intelligence officials suspected that Osama bin Laden, leader of the al-Qaeda network blamed for the attacks, was hiding "somewhere between Pakistan and Afghanistan".

Putin complimented the efforts made by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf "toward bringing stability in his country," adding: "And we support him."

Wrapping-up its two-day summit in Prague, NATO pledged "effective" action to back U.N. demands for Iraq to disarm, but without promising to go to war over it.

The military alliance's unanimous declaration for "effective" action was papered over deep divisions over Bush's push to disarm Iraq by force if necessary.

Against the backdrop of division, Washington's staunchest ally, Britain, said it would prefer any military action against Iraq to be backed by a "fresh" resolution of the United Nations Security Council.

"Our preference has always been for a further resolution for the Security Council," British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told BBC television late Thursday, November 21, speaking from Prague.

Germany insisted Thursday, November 21, it would not take part in any military action against Iraq.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Berlin's position on a possible war on Iraq had not changed.

"What I said before applies now and will continue to apply," Schroeder told reporters.

"Participation does not come into the question."

The message was reiterated by Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and Defense Minister Peter Struck.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441 demands that Iraq accept weapons inspectors and declare by December 8 any programs to develop chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

Iraq denies having any weapons of mass destruction.

The resolution also says that within 60 days of starting work in Iraq, U.N. weapons inspectors and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials will draw a work program containing "the key disarmament tasks" to be achieved by Iraq.

The United States and Britain, meanwhile, kept up pressure on Baghdad with a pair of air strikes on mobile radar units in southern Iraq on Thursday.

The raids came amid what Washington claimed was intensifying Iraqi firing on U.S. and British aircraft patrolling the so-called no-fly zones even as Baghdad welcomed back U.N. arms inspectors.

Iraq's state-run media on Friday welcomed the world's refusal to back Washington's claim that Iraq's firing on its warplanes was a "material breach" of the new U.N. disarmament resolution.

"The U.S. administration must be deeply disappointed by the international rejection of its heresy over the air exclusion zones," the ruling Baath Party newspaper Ath-Thawra said.

"Its disappointment must be all the greater because it wanted to use this issue to prepare for an attack on Iraq," the daily added.

Baghdad charged the United States and Britain of opening fire on civilian targets in northern and southern Iraq.

Iraq does not recognize the zones that were self-styled by the United States and Britain in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War.

Anglo-American's patrolling of the two air-exclusion zones  is not authorized by any U.N. resolution.

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