Russia warned US about Saddam Hussein attacks, says Putin

Russia warned Washington before the Iraq war that Saddam Hussein’s regime might be preparing attacks against the United States and its interests abroad, President Vladimir Putin said today.

Putin said he could not comment on how critical the Russians’ intelligence was in the Bush administration’s decision to invade Iraq. However, he said the information provided did not cause Russia to waver from its firm opposition to the war.

“Indeed, after September 11, 2001, and before the start of the military operation in Iraq, the Russian special services … received information that officials from Saddam’s regime were preparing terrorist attacks in the United States and outside it against the US military and other interests,” Putin said.

“Despite that information about terrorist attacks being prepared by Saddam’s regime, Russia’s position on Iraq remains unchanged,” Putin said.

However, he said Russia did not have any information that Saddam’s regime had actually been behind any terrorist acts.

“It’s one thing to have information that Saddam’s regime is preparing terrorist attacks, (but) we didn’t have information that it was involved in any known terrorist attacks,” Putin said in the Kazakh capital Astana after regional economic and security summit.