#7
Argumenty i Fakty
April 16, 2003
WILL AMERICA SEEK REVENGE ON RUSSIA?
An interview with US Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow
Author: Nikolai Zyatkov
[from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]

US AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA ALEXANDER VERSHBOW CONSIDERS THAT THE WAR IN IRAQ WAS JUSTIFIED. HE ALSO SAYS THAT NORTH KOREA AND IRAN MAY BE THE NEXT TARGETS IN THE DRIVE TO PREVENT PROLIFERATION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

US Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow was interviewed at our offices just as a large demonstration, involving thousands of people, assembled in front of the US embassy in protest against the war in Iraq. Therefore, he did not hear these protests.

THIS DIRTY AFFAIR IS JUSTIFIED

Question: You must recall Dostoevsky's words that even the noblest idea is not worth a child's tears. Do you think the enormous losses that Iraqis have suffered are justified in the light of this statement?

Alexander Vershbow: Nobody is glad about civilian casualties, especially children. But we are convinced that if Saddam had retained power, there would have been much greater losses. While seizing Basra, we found a prison where thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens were tortured. Time will tell that this person has killed more Muslims than any other ruler. Of course, war is a dirty affair, but in this case it was justified.

Question: According to reports of the Iraqi opposition, Saddam Hussein was recruited by the CIA in 1961 in Egypt, where he escaped after a failed coup. It has been also reported about contacts between current US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Hussein. Can you confirm or deny these reports?

Vershbow: It is possible to recall a number of interesting stories regarding US relations with Saddam Hussein. Of course it is true that earlier, during the Iran-Iraq war, we were on the side of Iraq in this conflict. However, we never had any illusions regarding Saddam's regime.

Question: How seriously have Russian-American relations been damaged as a result of the disagreements over Iraq?

Vershbow: It is not that easy to assess this damage. There is some new tension and mistrust between our nations. However, despite the complications in relations between our presidents and governments, our mutual desire to retain the partnership has not disappeared. There are a lot of problems we should work on together. Neither of our countries cannot afford the tension that can last long.

We have a to defeat terrorism. Currently, the problem of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is being solved in Iraq, and probably we'll have to deal with it in North Korea, Iran, and some other countries.

It is also worthwhile to mention the drug trade, the spread of HIV, and human trafficking. It is also necessary for the US and Russia to develop mutual trade and investments. We should overcome this difficult period as soon as possible to return to the close cooperation that was created between us after September 11, 2001.

Question: Won't the deterioration in Russian-American relations affect the visit of President George W. Bush to St. Petersburg for the city's tercentenary?

Vershbow: The president is still planning to visit St. Petersburg. And we are hoping that before his visit we will manage to prove that our relations are still thriving. One of the most topical issues in this connection is to start cooperation in the field of the postwar restoration of Iraq. At the recent meeting between Bush and Blair it was announced that the role of the UN in this field will be viewed as the most important one. We know that Russia wants the Iraqi problem to be solved by the UN, and it is necessary to start discussing this topic right now.

Question: Will the US administration manage to forget our disagreements? As soon as the war began, you, Mr. Vershbow, hinted that America might make some decisions not in favor of Russia.

Vershbow: Of course, the harshness of our disagreements, especially in the course of the last debates in the UN, caused strong displeasure among Americans. One of instances of this displeasure was the draft law aimed at punishing Russian companies by excluding them from the process of restoration of Iraq. However, the US administration has not supported this draft law.

We have a saying: "It takes two to tango." We need to give up ideological arguments and start practical cooperation.

Question: Will Russian companies return to their work on those projects that they were working on before the conflict began?

Vershbow: First of all, we want to return Iraq to the Iraqi nation. At first, the situation in the country will be controlled by troops of the anti-Saddam coalition, but the transition government is to come to power rather soon. We are of the opinion that it is up to the Iraqi nation to resolve the issue of its oil. We believe that the Iraqi government will be eager to have relations with Russia, and we won't do anything to hinder this. But it is clear that the future Iraqi government will definitely assess how constructively the Russian government was acting in the period of the postwar restoration of Iraq. Personally I think that Russian companies will have a lot of opportunities to participate in reconstruction of the Iraqi oil sector and its further development. Of course, we would prefer if all countries had equal conditions, but the final decisions will be made not by the US but by Iraq.

Question: There is an international law that says that agreements signed by a previous government should be observed by the next one. Besides, President Bush has said that Russia's interests in the US will be respected.

Vershbow: Of course, some obligations inherited from the previous government will be observed by the new one. I think this will concern Iraq's debt to the Russian Federation. We are planning to convoke a conference of Iraq's creditors for forming a sensible approach to resolution of this issue. It is necessary to discuss rights of creditors and abilities of the Iraqi government to pay its debts to them. It is necessary to develop a reasonable balance between interests of both sides. There will be hardly anyone who will demand that the Iraqi government should pay all its debts within a month and cease to exist after that. We are hoping that Russia's approach to the Iraqi debt will be as flexible as that of the US when the question of Russia's payment of the USSR's debts arose.

As for the contracts signed by Russian companies with Iraq in the period of Saddam Hussein's rule, each of them should be studied separately. The fact that a number of such contracts were signed when the UN's sanctions against Iraq were acting causes some questions.

Question: Contracts were really signed but weren't fulfilled because Russian companies observed the sanctions. That is why Iraq breached its contract with LUKoil.

Vershbow: I'm not aware of all details, but I repeat that all this is to be thoroughly studied.

(Translated by Kirill Frolov)

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