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Putin aide says Iraq war damaging to Russian economy in longer term
Interfax

Moscow, 20 March: An economic adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin said the anti-Iraqi war launched by the USA on Thursday [20 March] might have an adverse medium-term effect on the Russian economy.

"In the short term - three to six months from the start of the war in Iraq - its consequences will most likely be insignificant, but afterward the situation may change. In the medium term - up to five years - the consequences may be pretty unpleasant," Andrey Illarionov told Interfax.

Oil fields in Iraq and neighbouring countries might be damaged, and this would produce a global oil shortage, he said.

Besides, the war might cause political instability and replacement of ruling regimes in Middle Eastern countries that are major oil exporters.

Illarionov recalled the Islamic revolution in Iran. "These kind of events, if they happen in countries of that region, may lead to a sharp fall in oil production for a period of up to 20 years," he said.

This meant medium-term world oil prices might be quite high, he argued. This threatened Russia with... a sharp increase in the inflow of foreign currency into the country due to favourable external factors that have nothing to do with its domestic economic situation.

Illarionov also said he did not expect Russia's anti-war position to [harm] Russian-US relations.

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