MOSCOW, Sept 6: Russian President Vladimir Putin brushed aside a joint charm offensive launched by US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday, dismissing their arguments for a military assault on Iraq.
The Kremlin said Bush and Blair had called Putin within minutes of each other as they pressed on with their campaign to win international support for a controversial strike to unseat President Saddam Hussein.
The Kremlin announced that Putin said no to both of them.
The message highlights tensions emerging in Moscow’s decision to join the US-led alliance, with confusion reigning in Russian military circles over what that partnership might actually mean.
But political analysts here had long predicted that Putin would make such a tough public delivery on Iraq and suggest it was only made for local consumption — and being treated as such by the West.
Although Russia has been viewed as an ardent opponent to an attack on Iraq, a surprisingly low 53 percent of respondents to a poll conducted by the respected VTsIOM agency said they were against such an attack, and 26 percent said they would support them.
Putin’s comments to Bush and Blair, as relayed by the Kremlin, were nearly identical.
“In the course of the discussions, the president expressed his serious doubts concerning the basis — both in international law, and the global-political sense — of using force against Iraq,” top Kremlin spokesman Alexei Gromov said of Putin’s discussion with Bush.
Bush made a series of calls Friday aimed at rounding up international support for the planned strikes that besides Putin included the leaders of China and France — the three permanent UN Security Council members whose leaders have publicly opposed the attack.
To Blair, Putin underlined the potential for a political solution to the Iraqi problem and expressed “deep doubts about the justification of the use of force against Iraq,” top Kremlin spokesman Alexei Gromov said.
Downing Street announced only that “the prime minister is keeping in touch with his colleagues on the present international situation” while there was no initial feedback on the Bush-Putin phone talk from Washington.
The conversations followed a raid on Thursday by US and British warplanes on an Iraqi air defence base that was denounced by the Russian foreign ministry as “complicating the already-difficult situation surrounding Iraq”.
Blair will arrive in Russia next month for a personal meeting with Putin focused on Iraq. Neither London nor Moscow have confirmed the date for the visit.
Blair said on Tuesday he would release in the coming weeks damning information on Baghdad’s alleged efforts to develop nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, a move designed to prove the threat posed by Iraq.
Bush has labelled Iraq part of an “axis of evil” sponsoring terrorism and developing weapons of mass destruction and Russia has demanded to see firm proof that Iraq is developing or harboring weapons of mass destruction before agreeing to any attack.
During a diplomatic tour by Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri to rally support against the US military threat that took him to Moscow this week, his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov condemned the US threats but offered vague language on other issues.
Most markedly, Ivanov endorsed the notion of taking “pre-emptive measures” against global terrorism, but only through the United Nations or other bodies.
Those comments strongly hinted of a reluctant acceptance of US arguments to launch a military assault aimed at unseating Saddam’s regime.
Ivanov’s talks with Sabri came against the backdrop of sensitive Western press reports about secret meetings in Washington between Moscow diplomats and senior Iraqi opposition figures.
The Russian foreign minister confirmed the reports but said their significance was being overblown by the Western press.
Bush-Chretien talks: Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien will meet U.S. President George W. Bush in Detroit on Monday ahead of the Sept. 11 anniversary ceremonies, but the biggest thing on both men’s minds will be Iraq.
As Bush undertakes a round of talks with world leaders, he is clearly hoping to win broader support among key allies than just Britain for his call to arms against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
And Chretien, a veteran politician who has backed the war in Afghanistan but is keenly aware that popular support is not strong for action against Iraq, wants to press Bush for evidence that an attack is needed now.
“It’s important for the president to continue to make the case about why the world will be better off without Saddam Hussein,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said on Friday.—AFP