March 11, 2003	Tuesday	Muharram 7, 1424

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UNITED NATIONS, March 10: Russia vowed on Monday to veto a UN resolution seeking UN approval for an invasion of Iraq, amid US and British threats to strike Baghdad with or without Security Council endorsement.

“If the draft resolution ... which includes unattainable ultimatums and demands, will in the end be put to a vote, then Russia will use its vote against the resolution,” said Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

Mr Ivanov also warned that Washington’s efforts to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and impose a US-based system of democracy on the country were “doomed to failure”.

“The attempts to export democracy, especially to countries with cultures that have survived through the centuries, is doomed to failure,” ITAR-TASS quoted Mr Ivanov as saying.

US President George Bush has repeatedly insisted that the United States will lead a “coalition of the willing” to disarm Iraq by force if it failed to win backing from the Security Council.

Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday that military action could begin before next Monday’s deadline if the resolution fails.

The United States has around a quarter of a million battle-ready troops poised to invade Iraq.

Amid frantic rounds of diplomatic shuttling before the Security Council vote, expected as early as Tuesday, France sent Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin to rally opposition to the US motion among African council members.—AFP