RUSSIA SLAMS U.S. FOR IRAQI ACTIONS.
RUSSIA SLAMS U.S. FOR IRAQI ACTIONS.
Moscow toughened its criticism of the U.S. yesterday following a second U.S. cruise missile attack on targets in Iraq. Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov called the U.S. action "an extremely negative event" and vowed that Moscow would derail passage of a draft resolution, offered by Great Britain, condemning Baghdad for its military operations against Iraqi Kurds. Primakov, who was speaking to reporters while on an official visit to Liechtenstein, also assailed the U.S. for attacking Iraq without a UN mandate, and said that Washington’s behavior reflected its drive to dominate the post-Cold War world. In Moscow, meanwhile, presidential chief-of-staff Anatoly Chubais said yesterday that Boris Yeltsin fully supports the government’s stand in opposition to the U.S. military operations in Iraq. On September 3 a government statement had characterized the U.S. attack as a "disproportionate and unacceptable reaction" to developments in Iraq. (Itar-Tass, September 4)
Primakov Assails West on Security Issues.
