Moscow Condemns Anglo-American Bombings of Iraq

Moscow believes the Anglo-American bombings in Iraq's "no-fly" zones hamper the search for a political-diplomatic solution to the Iraqi issue and is detremental to the complicated situation around that country. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department of Information and Press, tension remains high in the no-fly zones established by the U.S. and the U.K. over Iraq's northern and southern regions.

Over the past few days, USAF and RAF aircraft have delivered a series of airstrikes on the civil airport of Basra, damaging the radar observation system and a passenger terminal. They also bombed Baghdad's environs.

"It is regretful that the actions of the Anglo-American aviation have reached their peak when Iraqi representatives and experts of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) have convened in Vienna to discuss the modalities of resuming UN inspections in this country," the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.