Kuala Lumpur, July 08: If unilateralism becomes the norm of international life it will lead to "chaos and catastrophe", Russian President Vladimir Putin said in remarks published here today. Putin was responding to a question on the US-led invasion of Iraq in an exclusive interview with The New Straits Times ahead of a planned visit to Malaysia, a mainly Muslim Southeast Asian nation.

The trip, which was to have begun today, was postponed after suicide bombers killed 13 people at a weekend Moscow rock concert. Putin stressed in the interview, held in Moscow, that Russia wanted to see international organisations such as the united nations strengthened to deal with "peacekeeping and upholding international law." The Russian president, who opposed the US invasion of Iraq, said, however: "We are satisfied with the pace of our dialogue with our partners, including the United States.

"We managed to reach an agreement on the recent (post-war) UN resolution on Iraq. And we believe that the role of the UN in settling the situation in Iraq should move to a higher level." Asked what role Russia could play to counter the dominant role of the US in the world, Putin pointed out that "Russia and the US today are the most powerful nuclear powers in the world.

"I would like to stress that in this particular context, and in the provision of global stability, the roles of Russia and the US are important."

Bureau Report