Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov gave cautious approval to the resolution Friday, but reaffirmed Russia's push for a quick restoration of Iraq's sovereignty, adding that the draft will need more work to win approval at the U.N. Security Council.
Like France and Germany, the Russians are not fools.
posted on September 5, 2003 02:52:55 PM new
UNITED NATIONS Sept. 5 — ABC news
The Security Council held its first informal meeting Friday on a U.S.-proposed resolution to get more troops and money into Iraq, with Russia giving cautious approval to the draft.
The United States welcomed the "good discussion" at the meeting, but Russia, France and Germany said serious negotiations were still necessary on two key issues how quickly Iraq's sovereignty can be restored and how large the U.N. role should be in rebuilding the country.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov gave cautious approval to the resolution Friday, but reaffirmed Russia's push for a quick restoration of Iraq's sovereignty, adding that the draft will need more work to win approval at the U.N. Security Council.
"Preliminarily speaking, I can say that this initiative deserves attention since the content of the proposed resolution reflects those principles which Russia has consistently championed," Ivanov said, according to the Interfax and ITAR-Tass news agencies.
"The American draft outlines movement toward those principles, and, naturally very serious work needs to be done so that they are fully reflected" in the final version.
The leaders of Germany and France criticized a U.S. draft resolution
seeking international troops and money for Iraq, saying it falls short by
not granting responsibility to Iraqis or a large enough role to the United
Nations ...
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques
Chirac insisted Washington had to go further.
The U.S. plan does not address the "priority objective" — the transfer of
the power to a homegrown Iraqi government, Chirac said. Schroeder said
draft resolution had brought "movement" into the diplomacy. But he added:
"I agree with the president when he says: Not dynamic enough, not sufficient."
[ edited by Twelvepole on Sep 5, 2003 11:33 PM ]