Moscow, May 14: US Secretary of State Colin Powell failed today to convince Russian leaders to support an immediate end to UN sanctions on Iraq, with Moscow insisting that UN weapons inspectors return first to Baghdad. Two weeks after British Prime Minister Tony Blair returned empty-handed to London after a similar mission, Powell said the two sides would continue to try and reach a compromise but there was little sign of common ground.
The top US diplomat said he and his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov would "be working closely in the days ahead on the resolution that is pending before the UN to see if we can come into agreement with our other Security Council partners." "We have described our position to each other, there are outstanding issues," he told reporters after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
Powell in particular remarked that Washington did not agree with Moscow that UN inspectors should be allowed back to Iraq to certify that it has no weapons of mass destruction before the sanctions regime can be removed. "We did not resolve that," he said.
The UN Security Council is Thursday to discuss a draft US resolution that would lift sanctions imposed on Iraq in 1990 and enable Washington and its allies to effectively run the country and control its oil revenues for at least a year.
Moscow's position is broadly backed by France and China, fellow veto-wielding members of the Security Council that also opposed the US-led invasion. Bureau Report