Russia: A leading adviser to the Pentagon told Moscow yesterday that its opposition to war in the Gulf had wrecked its chances of helping rebuild Iraq, while a Russian official demanded United Nations sanctions against Baghdad remain until arms inspectors made sure that Iraq was free of weapons of mass destruction, writes Daniel McLaughlin in Moscow
"This could be done within a couple of weeks, as it is obvious that there are no such weapons there," the unnamed foreign ministry official told Itar-Tass news agency.
"The sanctions should be lifted as quickly as possible, immediately after Iraq complies with UN Security Council resolutions." Washington wants the sanctions - which date from Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait - to be lifted immediately.
After losing his battle to prevent war in the Gulf, Russian President Mr Vladimir Putin has said the US-led action would be unjustified unless international arms inspectors found chemical or biological weapons in Iraq, and insists the UN rather than Washington takes the lead in rebuilding the war-shattered nation.
Moscow also demands that Baghdad's new government respects Russian companies' billion-dollar contracts to develop Iraq's huge oil reserves. But a leading Pentagon aide said yesterday that the Kremlin's staunch opposition to military action had probably destroyed its chances of profiting from the post-war carve-up in Iraq.
"The Russian government backed the losing side. That position will undoubtedly do serious damage to Russian interests," Mr Richard Perle told Kommersant newspaper. "It is highly likely that all previous deals with Russia will be declared null and void."
The comments by Mr Perle, an adviser to US Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld, echoed pre-war warnings from Washington that Russia's opposition to war could damage its deals to develop the world's second-largest oil reserves.
"Of course, this is something for the new Iraqi government to decide," Mr Perle said. "But I would be surprised if Russia enjoys the same kind of support from the new Iraqi leadership as it did under Hussein. The new Iraqi government will hardly feel the same way about those countries that freed Iraq from Saddam Hussein, as it will about those that opposed liberation."