Russia ready to help U.S. in settling Iraq

Russia is ready to help the United States in settling the problem of Iraq on the condition that the United Nations Security Council passes a relative resolution, Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov told the Nezavisimaya Gazeta in an interview on Wednesday.

"I'd like to call it help for the Americans to break the deadlock without loosing face", he said. "Only by a joint effort is it possible to emerge from the morass in which our American partners have been bogged down", Trubnikov said. He voiced the opinion that, as the date (June 30) of passing power to the Iraqis approaches, the internal situation there will get heated up.

"From the very beginning we regarded the intervention a big mistake under an invented pretext", Trubnikov stressed. "No weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq".

As result of the military action, there is now the danger of Iraq being split into Kurd, Shiite, Sunni and other territories, he emphasised.

In the opinion of Trubnikov, the problem can only be resolved by the Iraqis themselves forming their leadership without pressure from outside.

He noted that the guerrilla warfare is going on in Iraq mostly at the expense of the forces and means of the Iraqis proper. "But this is also the fertile soil for the Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Chechen and other terrorist groups shooting out", the Russian first deputy foreign minister said.

"They can prosper and strike roots in other countries, too", Trubnikov warned.