Russia uges all nationals, including reporters, to quit Iraq immediately

The Russian Foreign Ministry is urging all Russian journalists to leave Iraq for safety reasons, ministry spokesman Aleksandr Yakovenko announced at a news conference here Thursday. He said the Emergencies Ministry was facilitating the evacuation of all Russian nationals from Iraq. Neither Iraqi police nor occupation forces are able to assure the safety of Russians in Iraq, Yakovenko said. He said there currently remain in Iraq some staff of the Russian embassy, several Interenergoservis employees and 10 journalists. 'Unfortunately, we cannot compel people to leave Iraq. They will make their own decisions,' Yakovenko said.