Russia backs Bush over Iraq

Russia has moved to back Washington's UN resolution on Iraq.

Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said: "Preliminarily speaking, I can say that this initiative deserves attention since the content of the proposed resolution reflects those principles which Russia has consistently championed."

The statement came a day after the Russian Defence Minister said that Moscow might send peacekeepers to Iraq as part of an international force.

Mr Ivanov said that Moscow was attentively studying the US-proposed draft resolution that envisages broader UN role in governing Iraq and providing security.

His statement contrasted with those coming from the Franco-German summit where both President Jacques Chirac and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder dismissed the US plan.