War with Iraq: the European and Russian positions

By ANNE PENKETH

The US should not take any action against Iraq without the consent of the United Nations. That is the view from continental Europe where the German government is flatly refusing to provide troops for a military escalation.

But while the German government is the angriest about the US attitude – Chancellor Gerhard Schroder says George Bush should consult its allies on whether, not just when, any action is undertaken - the voices that will actually be heeded in Washington are expressed in Paris and Moscow.

If the US does decide to give President Saddam Hussein one last chance to readmit the UN weapons inspectors before launching military strikes, the decision-taking will be back in the UN Security Council, where France and Russia are permanent members. That means that the two long-time allies of Iraq, along with China, would be able to block any US invasion plans that are presented to the 15-member Council.

Small wonder, then, that the hawks in the Bush administration are wondering aloud about the point of returning the UN weapons inspectors to Iraq, mindful of years of stalemate with the Russians and French over Iraq in the bitterly-divided Council.

The French president, Jacques Chirac, insisted on Thursday that the US must pursue its Iraq policy through the United Nations. To take "unilateral and preemptive force" action, he said in a clear swipe at Washington, would undermine international law. But he did not say how France might vote if President Saddam continues to deny admission to the UN weapons inspectors.

Moscow, which like France is owed billions of dollars by Iraq from before the Gulf War, believes that the Iraqi regime has effectively been disarmed and that UN sanctions should be lifted. But although Russia was reported 10 days ago to be close to signing a US$40 billion trade deal with Iraq, the Kremlin has been careful to continue to abide by the sanctions while they are still in force.

EU foreign ministers will discuss the Iraq crisis at an informal meeting in Denmark today. But the EU has never had a common position on Iraq and the ministers are likely to avoid any public airing of their diverging opinions.

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