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[casi] Russian Foreign Minister accuses US of pressuring inspectors to provoke pull out as in 1998



see below excerpt from Guardian article re Russian F.M's criticism of US
pressure on Inspectors.
This article is the only one I have seen so far where they quote his
reference to 1998
I have chased up Today, C4 News, Newsnight and some of the broadsheets re
exploring exactly what provocation happened in 1998, they didn't seem overly
keen. I think it's all a bit too complicated for them, but there are big
echos of 1998 here- in 1998 the Russian ambassador to the UN Sergey Lavrov
said that the December 1998 crisis was " created artficially by the
irresponsible acts of Richard Butler"
I think if lots of people got onto them and  tried to convince them this was
a story they might wake up a bit
Richard
Voices

 Russia yesterday upped the stakes in its fervent opposition to US military
action by saying they had evidence the weapons inspectors were being
"pressurised" to force them to abandon their work in Iraq.

Igor Ivanov, the Russian foreign minister, said: "According to our
information, strong pressure is being exerted on international inspectors to
provoke them to discontinue their operations in Iraq, as happened in 1998,
or to pressure them into coming up with assessments that would justify the
use of force".

He stopped short of directly accusing Washington of interfering with
inspections, instead preferring to suggest that the international com munity
should "help rather than put pressure" on Dr Blix and Dr El Baradei and
their teams in Iraq.

Leaving no doubt as to the source of the pressure, he added that "the faster
we receive concrete results from the international inspectors' activities"
the better chance the world had of avoiding the war that Washington
increasingly says is justified.

The foreign minister's remarks constitute the most pointed criticism that
Moscow has yet levelled at Washington during the Iraq crisis. However, the
Kremlin has relentlessly sought to keep its options open, its remarks
usually ambivalent enough not to tie President Putin to a particular stance.


Defiance on missiles could be war trigger

Lack of movement on disarmament reflects hardening of Iraqi stance in face
of inspectors' planned order to destroy weapons

Brian Whitaker, Richard Norton-Taylor and Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow
Friday February 21, 2003
The Guardian

Iraqi intransigence over missiles that can travel 20 miles beyond a 94-mile
limit set by the United Nations was rapidly emerging last night as a
possible trigger for an American invasion.
As weapons inspectors prepared to order the rockets' destruction, President
Saddam Hussein held a council of war with his military chiefs. The meeting
came a day after the Iraqi leader vowed that peace "at any cost" was
unacceptable. Several westerners who have been working privately to avert
conflict expressed desperation yesterday at what they see as a hardening of
Iraq's stance.

They point out that Baghdad has made no positive moves on disarmament since
last Friday - which they fear is due to a misreading of the disarray in the
UN security council and the anti-war demonstrations last weekend.

In his latest report to the UN security council, the chief inspector, Hans
Blix, declared the Samoud 2 missiles illegal because they had been
test-fired to a distance of 114 miles.

Iraq says the missiles flew the extra distance because they were unburdened
by guidance and control systems.

UN weapons inspectors yesterday visited the Ibn al-Haithem facility, north
of Baghdad, which produces missile parts, and the Samoud factory, which
makes liquid-propellant engines for the missiles, according to Iraq's
information ministry.

They are believed to be compiling inventories of items to be destroyed, and
Mr Blix is expected to call for their destruction within the next few days.

Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz has already declared the missiles'
destruction "unacceptable".

"They should not be destroyed because they are practically within the range
we are allowed to have," he said in a recent interview with CNN. "It would
be quite unfair and unacceptable by any scientific and security standards
... Destruction should be based on a reason, a reason linked with questions
of security and peace."

The rockets, which carry a conventional warhead but could potentially be
fitted with chemical or biological weapons, are viewed by Iraq as a key part
of its arsenal.

British officials said yesterday that it is up to Mr Blix to decide what to
do about the missiles, though they described the issue as a test for Iraq.
It would be "an element of judging Iraqi cooperation," they said.

The missile dispute has arisen at a propitious time for British and American
officials who are drafting a new UN resolution which they said yesterday the
would circulate next week.

The draft will seek to impose a time limit for Iraqi compliance with
security council demands.

Russia yesterday upped the stakes in its fervent opposition to US military
action by saying they had evidence the weapons inspectors were being
"pressurised" to force them to abandon their work in Iraq.

Igor Ivanov, the Russian foreign minister, said: "According to our
information, strong pressure is being exerted on international inspectors to
provoke them to discontinue their operations in Iraq, as happened in 1998,
or to pressure them into coming up with assessments that would justify the
use of force".

He stopped short of directly accusing Washington of interfering with
inspections, instead preferring to suggest that the international com munity
should "help rather than put pressure" on Dr Blix and Dr El Baradei and
their teams in Iraq.

Leaving no doubt as to the source of the pressure, he added that "the faster
we receive concrete results from the international inspectors' activities"
the better chance the world had of avoiding the war that Washington
increasingly says is justified.

The foreign minister's remarks constitute the most pointed criticism that
Moscow has yet levelled at Washington during the Iraq crisis. However, the
Kremlin has relentlessly sought to keep its options open, its remarks
usually ambivalent enough not to tie President Putin to a particular stance.

Yesterday, Mr Ivanov was careful to reiterate Moscow's insistence that
Baghdad cooperate fully with weapons inspectors, demanding a "full openness"
from Baghdad, the apparent absence of which fuels Washington's argument.
President Putin has in the past said Moscow's insistence on diplomacy may
evaporate if inspections are hampered.

Mr Ivanov's comments also come a day after he met US Congressman Tom Lantos,
who left their meeting in Moscow on Wednesday feeling assured that Russia
would eventually "create no obstacles" to US intentions.



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