RUSSIA: Russia and the United States agreed yesterday to search for a way through the Iraq arms impasse that would maintain the fraying framework of the United Nations and unite an increasingly fractious international community.
Russian President, Mr Putin, and US President, Mr George Bush, sounded the conciliatory note just hours after Moscow reinforced its anti-war stance in talks with China and Germany, warning Washington not to abandon diplomacy and bypass the UN by launching a military strike against Baghdad.
"During a discussion on Iraq, both sides expressed the intention to step up work within the UN Security Council, with the aim of working out a plan of action to take into account the interests of the world community," a Kremlin statement said after the Russian and US leaders spoke by telephone at Washington's request.
Late the previous night, Mr Putin had emerged from talks with the German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schröder, to underline Russia's opposition to a US-backed draft resolution authorising the use of force against Iraq if it failed to destroy its alleged cache of weapons of mass destruction.
"The position of Russia and German remains unchanged - it is essential to continue the search for a peaceful solution to the crisis and achieve Iraq's full compliance with its obligations before the UN," the Kremlin said in a communiqué after the meeting in Moscow.
"Russia considers it unacceptable to approve a UN resolution giving the right to automatically use force against Iraq."
Berlin and Moscow were "united in the fact that Iraq must disarm and that this can be achieved through peaceful means", Mr Schröder told reporters. "Both Russia and Germany know from our bitter history what war is ... perhaps this explains why we are co-operating on this."
Mr Putin said Russia would work with Iraq to ensure its full compliance with UN arms inspectors, whom he urged to be more systematic in their work, and provide Baghdad with a full list of their demands.
Meanwhile in Beijing, Russia's Foreign Minister, Mr Igor Ivanov, reminded Washington of the strength of worldwide opposition to its threat of war in Iraq.
"Our position is shared by other UN Security Council members, including China, France, Germany and Syria," he told an Internet news conference after talks with top Chinese officials. "In this context, we underscore the need for further intensive political and diplomatic efforts to settle the Iraqi conflict."
A joint communiqué issued by Russia and China after the talks said the two countries would "promote a political settlement of the Iraqi issue by every possible means and ... proceed from the understanding that a war can and must be prevented".
"The international community demands that every measure be taken for the maximum prevention of a military operation. These hopes must be respected."
Russia has consistently opposed the use of force in Iraq without ruling out the eventual need for military action.
Analysts say the Kremlin wants US guarantees that Russian contracts to develop Iraqi oilfields would not be annulled by any war, and that Baghdad's $8 billion debt to Moscow would be honoured. Russia also fears that Western oil majors could flood the world market with Iraqi crude and depress soaring prices that have swelled oil-exporter Moscow's hard currency reserves to record levels.