Russia Worried About US-European Dispute

Russia is worried about the nature of the current debate between the United States and leading European countries. This was disclosed here today by Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, as he addressed a session of the foreign-and-defense policy council.

Moscow doesn't want relations between the United States and European powers to get worse; any artificial differences are also undesirable, Ivanov stressed.

According to Ivanov, Moscow wins nothing, also suffering mid-term losses. In his words, different viewpoints should not encompass all present-day global issues and problems.

For its own part, Moscow would like to retain its partner-like relations with the United States; the Russian side will also do its best to prevent any subsequent confrontation.

In his opinion, Russia and the United States will need each other more than once; among other things, they will have to jointly settle the Iraqi conflict. It's highly important that Russia's partners in Washington also comprehend this, Ivanov added.

The Russian Foreign Minister explained the motivations of Washington and London, which claim that the number of their supporters continues to increase every day. Papua New Guinea and the Marshall islands are also listed among such supporters today. In his opinion, this means that the United States and Great Britain would like as many countries as possible to support their plans.

The US-British military operation against Iraq is apparently supported by more than 40 countries. However, this support is purely symbolic, to put it mildly. We know the methods for obtaining such support, Ivanov stressed.