#11 - RW 265
The Hindu (India)
July 18, 2003
Russia rules out troops for Iraq
By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW JULY 17. Russia would not send peacekeepers to Iraq under the current dispensation, a senior Russian diplomat said today. ``Russian participation in the coalition of countries occupying Iraq is ruled out,'' the Deputy Foreign Minister, Yuri Fedotov, told the Interfax news agency.

At the same time the diplomat left open the possibility of Russia sending troops to Iraq if the United Nations issues a mandate for an international peacekeeping force. ``As for the possibility of establishing a new format for international security presence in Iraq under U.N. aegis and on a Security Council mandate, we shall take a stand on possible participation in such forces depending on specific circumstances and further evolution of the situation,'' the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister said. Earlier this week Russia's Foreign

Minister, Mr. Igor Ivanov, called for meeting of the U.N. Security Council to review progress in implementing Resolution 1483 on post-war reconstruction of Iraq. Today's statement by Mr. Ivanov's deputy suggests Moscow may be willing to support sending international peacekeepers to Iraq. The Russian Foreign Minister today called for further steps to normalise the situation in Iraq.

``Russia thinks it advisable for the U.N. Security Council to review the

situation in Iraq and work out appropriate decisions on the Iraqi problem,'' Mr. Ivanov said in Cairo.

He called for international efforts to help the Iraqi people overcome the crisis, provided the U.N. plays "a bigger role'' in Iraq.

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