USA hopes to enlist Russia's help to assist Iraq

The USA and Russia will concentrate on lending aid to the people of Iraq.

"The USA reckons the presidents of the two countries will take advantage of the upcoming summit in St. Petersburg to discuss what we can do together to help the people of Iraq," US Secretary of State Colin Powell told the audience at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations on Wednesday.

Speaking about the US-led military campaign in Iraq, Powell said the US were in fact very loath to launch it. "We hoped to achieve settlement with United Nations Security Council's Resolution No.1441, and we brought forward the draft of the next resolution," he recalled. "The USA was well aware of the danger arising from its interference." "We hope the new draft resolution the USA proposed to the Security Council allows us to help the people of Iraq cope with their past, build a state based on democratic principles and international law, and use Iraq's oil to restore the country without posing a threat to its neighbours," Powell said.

He added that he hoped the St. Petersburg summit and the G-8 meeting in France were successful and helped the world community unite and move forward together.