DATE=12/1/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / IRAQ (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-256710
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:

INTRO:  Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz is 
meeting Russian officials in Moscow to seek support 
for help in easing United Nations sanctions against 
his country.  V-O-A Moscow correspondent Eve Conant 
reports Mr. Aziz is condemning a proposal to send U-N 
weapons inspectors back to Iraq in exchange for an end 
to sanctions.

TEXT:  Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz flew to 
Moscow to urge Russia to block a draft U-N Security 
Council resolution that would bring U-N arms 
inspectors back to Iraq in exchange for a suspension 
of sanctions. 

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Aziz called the U-N 
proposal "a rotten project designed to mislead public 
opinion."  He said the idea marked what he called a 
"threat to Iraq's sovereignty," and he added that 
suspension of sanctions was nothing but "an illusion 
and a lie."

U-N sanctions against Iraq have been in place since 
the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, and can be 
suspended only after weapons inspectors certify that 
Iraq is  not  developing or harboring weapons of mass 
destruction.  Iraq insists the sanctions should be 
lifted immediately, and that the country has already 
eliminated all such weapons.

The United States is urging Russia to encourage Iraq 
to agree with the U-N proposal.  Secretary of State 
Madeleine Albright has asked Russian Foreign Minister 
Igor Ivanov to convey the message that Iraq must 
adhere to U-N demands. 

After meeting with Mr. Aziz, Foreign Minister Ivanov 
would  not  say if Russia planned to use its veto in 
the U-N Security Council to block the plan.  But he 
reiterated Russia's support for an end to sanctions on 
humanitarian grounds.  Russia also wants an end to the 
sanctions, so Iraq can start paying back a multi-
billion-dollar debt to Moscow.

// OPT //  Mr. Aziz will spend several days in Moscow, 
and is expected to meet with Prime Minister Vladimir 
Putin and other top officials.  // END OPT //

Mr. Aziz also commented on Russia's military campaign 
against Islamic militants in Chechnya, calling it an 
"internal Russian affair" despite Western pressure to 
halt the offensive.  Mr. Aziz said he rejected 
accusations that Russia was acting against Islamic 
interests.   (Signed)

NEB/EC/JWH/WTW



01-Dec-1999 10:39 AM EDT (01-Dec-1999 1539 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.