US draft does not meet right criteria says Russia

The new US draft of a UN Security Council resolution on Iraq does not meet the criteria that Russia considers important, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said today.

Ivanov’s statement, made to Russian reporters, was the Kremlin’s first official reaction to the US proposal presented yesterday to the other four permanent members of the Security Council.

The American draft resolution, which was presented yesterday, does not answer the criteria (for resolution of the Iraq crisis) which the Russian side laid out earlier and which it confirms today,” Ivanov said.

Ivanov spoke several hours after meeting Hans Blix, the head of the UN international weapons inspectors team.

Russia has opposed the United States’ push for a resolution that would carry an automatic military response if Iraq is found to be not co-operating with inspectors.