Moscow, Apr 21: Russia wants the UN inspectors to pronounce Iraq free of weapons of mass destruction before economic sanctions against it are lifted, a senior Moscow diplomat told a news agency today. The unnamed official said UN weapons and nuclear arms inspectors must "return to Iraq and confirm that it has no weapons," the news agency said. Sanctions could be lifted shortly after that, the source said. The UN Security Council, where Russia wields veto power, must approve the removal of Iraqi sanctions, including those concerning its oil exports. The Russian official said United States "want the sanctions to be lifted immediately ... But this stance contradicts international rights."
US President George W Bush said last week he would soon propose a UN resolution ending the economic sanctions, which put an embargo on the trade of Iraqi oil.
Russia has been a fierce opponent of the US-British invasion of Iraq and cast doubt on the accusations that Baghdad was developing biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.
And Moscow, which wants the United Nations to oversee the rebuilding of Iraq, fears that lucrative reconstruction and oil contracts in Iraq could be allocated almost exclusively to the US-led coalition. Bureau Report