State Duma Speaker Lashes Out at U.S. Congress Decision

State Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznev on Friday lashed out at the U.S. Congress' decision to exclude Russia from participating in contracts for the rebuilding of Iraq. Seleznev, speaking to journalists, pointed out 'the incompetence of the U.S. Congress' independent decision of such questions,' Rosbalt reported. He also said 'it is too early to speak about rebuilding post-war Iraq.' He added that 'all of these questions will be looked over ten times (before the end of the war).'

To the contrary, Seleznev said that 'Americans will have to pay Russia compensation for the cost of Russian contracts that were already concluded with Iraq before the war.' If the Russian side is turned down in this endeavor, then its last chance is to decide the question in the International Arbitration Courts,' he said.

On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment to a law on financing the Iraq war which prohibits using U.S. government money allotted for post-war reconstruction of Iraq for buying Russian, French, German or Syrian trade goods or services.