US official: Russia unlikely to veto second resolution

Russia is unlikely to veto a second UN Security Council resolution that could lead to war with Iraq, a senior US official said today.

America and Britain plan to bring the resolution to a council vote by March 10, he said, adding: “I don’t think there will be a Russian veto.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s chief of staff, Alexander Voloshin, is in Washington for talks with US National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Vice President Dick Cheney.

US officials have been tight-lipped about the unannounced visit, which coincided with an equally secretive trip by former Russian spymaster Yevgeny Primakov to Baghdad and one by Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov to Beijing.

Russian media has speculated that Voloshin was trying to strike last minute deals with the US in return for supporting the new resolution.