Moscow, Mar 22: Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov accused the United States of trying to step on Russia's economic interests in Iraq and said that Moscow had asked for clarification on a US request for countries to expel Iraqi diplomats. Ivanov called the request "strange" and suggested it was part of a US strategy to trample on existing oil contracts between Iraq and non-US companies, according to the Interfax news agency.
"What threat could they (the diplomats) present for US security?" he said at a meeting of the defense policy council outside Moscow.
The request to expel diplomats and freeze Iraqi assets was "not made by accident," Ivanov was quoted as saying. "In this way, they are saying that everything before today was illegal, all contracts signed before are illegal, and legality begins with the arrival of a new administration, even a temporary one."

Russian oil companies have been heavily involved in Iraq, though the biggest contract--held by Lukoil for the development of the west Qurna 2 field--was torn up by Baghdad in December. There are a multitude of smaller deals, but most are vague and considered minor in comparison.
Ivanov said that there would be many in the United States "who after bombing Iraq would like to profit from its resources" despite Washington's statements that the country's oil riches belong to the Iraqi people.
Ivanov said that he was certain the US-led coalition would win the war but warned that the damage from it could be more than it expected, according to Interfax.
Bureau Report