wrbones
04-11-03, 11:57 PM
http://www.inq7.net/brk/2003/apr/12/brkafp_8-1.htm
Russia, Germany, France
remain opposed to US
Posted: 11:07 AM (Manila Time) | Apr. 12, 2003
Agence France-Presse
SAINT PETERSBURG--The leaders of Russia, Germany and France, who insisted Friday that only the United Nations has the legitimacy to reconstruct Iraq, were to conclude Saturday a two-day "peace camp" summit likely to further antagonize the United States.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac were each due to give a speech on the final day of their meeting here, after having voiced plans for post-war Iraq that differed markedly from that of Washington.
The positions of the anti-war trio on Iraq "have not changed," Putin said late Friday after holding a first day of talks with his guests.
"The main thing now is to restore civilian life and to resolve humanitarian problems. We believe all these issues should be resolved under the aegis of the United Nations," he told journalists in Russia's second city Saint Petersburg.
"Only they (United Nations) have the necessary legitimacy" to rebuild Iraq, said Chirac.
The reconstruction has to happen "under the umbrella of the United Nations. We need to work out the details with the coalition but we need to agree on the concept," said Schroeder.
The comments by the three European powers that fiercely opposed the US-led war on Iraq are likely to put them on a fresh collision course with Washington over the best way to handle the aftermath of the war.
Under Washington's plans, retired US general Jay Garner is expected to run Iraq's postwar interim administration.
After an initial phase that is expected to last at least six months, he would turn over the country's administration to an interim Iraqi authority made up of a broad spectrum of Iraqi political groups.
But Putin dismissed the notion that the insistence of the anti-war camp on a central role for the UN would further fracture bruised transatlantic relations.
"The goal of our meeting is not to rupture the international community," he said, but rather was part of "the search for international security in the 21st century."
Nevertheless, some of his comments were less than conciliatory.
"We are not going to export capitalist, democratic revolutions," Putin said. "If we do, we're going to end up on a slippery slope to non-ending military conflicts. We can't let that happen."
He then went on to specifically warn against any foreign attempts to carry out regime change in Syria, even as US criticisms against Damascus have steadily increased over the past few days.
And Chirac, for his part, implicitly criticized US and British forces for failing to rein in looters in Iraq amid a collapse of law and order.
"In accordance with the laws of war, it is up to the US and British forces, as powerful occupiers, to maintain order and create the conditions for the provision of humanitarian aid," he said.
Schroeder struck the most conciliatory tone of the trio.
"I don't want to talk about the past," he said. "We have to make (a military victory in Iraq) a lasting victory for Iraqis and for the whole region."
Friday marked the first time Putin has made a public statement on Iraq since US troops rolled into Baghdad to scenes of jubilation from residents and Saddam Hussein's regime crumbled.
"It is good that the Saddam Hussein regime has fallen. We have said for a long time he had to be brought down. We did not defend him, we said it should not be done by force," the Russian leader said.
Russia, Germany, France
remain opposed to US
Posted: 11:07 AM (Manila Time) | Apr. 12, 2003
Agence France-Presse
SAINT PETERSBURG--The leaders of Russia, Germany and France, who insisted Friday that only the United Nations has the legitimacy to reconstruct Iraq, were to conclude Saturday a two-day "peace camp" summit likely to further antagonize the United States.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac were each due to give a speech on the final day of their meeting here, after having voiced plans for post-war Iraq that differed markedly from that of Washington.
The positions of the anti-war trio on Iraq "have not changed," Putin said late Friday after holding a first day of talks with his guests.
"The main thing now is to restore civilian life and to resolve humanitarian problems. We believe all these issues should be resolved under the aegis of the United Nations," he told journalists in Russia's second city Saint Petersburg.
"Only they (United Nations) have the necessary legitimacy" to rebuild Iraq, said Chirac.
The reconstruction has to happen "under the umbrella of the United Nations. We need to work out the details with the coalition but we need to agree on the concept," said Schroeder.
The comments by the three European powers that fiercely opposed the US-led war on Iraq are likely to put them on a fresh collision course with Washington over the best way to handle the aftermath of the war.
Under Washington's plans, retired US general Jay Garner is expected to run Iraq's postwar interim administration.
After an initial phase that is expected to last at least six months, he would turn over the country's administration to an interim Iraqi authority made up of a broad spectrum of Iraqi political groups.
But Putin dismissed the notion that the insistence of the anti-war camp on a central role for the UN would further fracture bruised transatlantic relations.
"The goal of our meeting is not to rupture the international community," he said, but rather was part of "the search for international security in the 21st century."
Nevertheless, some of his comments were less than conciliatory.
"We are not going to export capitalist, democratic revolutions," Putin said. "If we do, we're going to end up on a slippery slope to non-ending military conflicts. We can't let that happen."
He then went on to specifically warn against any foreign attempts to carry out regime change in Syria, even as US criticisms against Damascus have steadily increased over the past few days.
And Chirac, for his part, implicitly criticized US and British forces for failing to rein in looters in Iraq amid a collapse of law and order.
"In accordance with the laws of war, it is up to the US and British forces, as powerful occupiers, to maintain order and create the conditions for the provision of humanitarian aid," he said.
Schroeder struck the most conciliatory tone of the trio.
"I don't want to talk about the past," he said. "We have to make (a military victory in Iraq) a lasting victory for Iraqis and for the whole region."
Friday marked the first time Putin has made a public statement on Iraq since US troops rolled into Baghdad to scenes of jubilation from residents and Saddam Hussein's regime crumbled.
"It is good that the Saddam Hussein regime has fallen. We have said for a long time he had to be brought down. We did not defend him, we said it should not be done by force," the Russian leader said.