Russian diplomat: The purpose of U.S. presence in Iraq is to tighten control over oil

The chief purpose of the US presence in Iraq is to tighten control over Iraqi oil, Andrei Granovsky, who heads the International Organisations Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told a Thursday press conference at RIA Novosti.

There are two ways to settle the situation in Iraq, to have the United Nations assume the leading the role and responsibility in this process or get the USA shoulder all responsibility for the restoration, believes the diplomat. "I am not sure the USA will like the second suggestion. At the same time, I do not think the USA will leave Iraq. After all, it has full control over the situation. The UN Security Council, too, cannot make it leave Iraq. The chief purpose of the USA is to tighten control over Iraqi oil to compensate for their expenses," he noted.

In the meantime, Sergei Rogov, Director of the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes the UN must not strive to take the leading role and assume responsibility for the restoration process in the new resolution concerning Iraq, but must instead leave this to the USA.