Russia begins evacuation of nationals in Iraq

Moscow, Feb 18: Ahead of a possible US-led military
strike on Saddam regime, Russia has begun evacuation of its
nationals from Iraq.

"Baghdad has decided to evacuate over one thousand
nationals, mostly oil experts and their dependants working and
living in Iraq" Russian state TV network said quoting Russian
Embassy sources in Iraq.

Earlier the Russian foreign ministry had said that it has
evolved a contingency plan for the evacuation of Russian
citizens in case of an outbreak of hostilities in the region.

Bureau Report