US Ambassador to Russia Criticises France

US ambassador in Moscow Alexander Vershbow stated on Thursday in his RIA Novosti interview that France did not fully disclose its intentions when it voted in favour of resolution 1441 on Iraq.

Vershbow stated that consideration of that resolution was based on the principle that the only way to achieve implementation of the earlier adopted UN resolutions was to support them by a real threat of using military force.

The ambassador stated that even the limited co-operation displayed recently by Iraq could not have been achieved without a threat of serious consequences, which was stated in resolution 1441 and without concentration of US and British Armed forces around Iraq.

He stated that now, evidently, France and other US allies were not prepared to back their words with action.