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Bush Meets Stiff Opposition on Iraq from Allies
Friday, September 6, 2002
By Tom Hundley & Alex Rodriguez
The Chicago Tribune

Russian opposition to an attack on Iraq poses the most severe test yet to Moscow's burgeoning, post-Sept. 11 relationship with Washington. Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov cautioned the Bush administration that a military strike on Iraq would create havoc in the Middle East. At the same time, Ivanov urged Iraq to allow the return of UN arms inspectors to ensure Baghdad was not amassing weapons of mass destruction. Analysts said Ivanov's statement was muted opposition at best, a sign that Moscow is wary of causing any lasting damage to its new alliance with the West.

LONDON -- CT
Italy is in. France, Germany and Russia, so far, are out. Britain is on the fence.

If the United States goes to war against Iraq, it could be going without some of its most important allies.

In a critical early step toward building an international consensus on Iraq, President Bush on Friday presented his case to the leaders of Russia, China and France, three influential voices in world politics that so far have doubted the need for military action against Saddam Hussein.

Bush's phone calls, to be followed Saturday by a visit at Camp David, Md., with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, are part of a multifaceted campaign to convince Congress, the American people and foreign leaders of the need for a regime change in Iraq.

Across Europe, talk of war in Iraq has met stiff opposition, a fact reinforced by the reactions of two leaders Bush spoke with Friday.

Reached while vacationing in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Bush he had "serious doubts that there are grounds for the use of force in connection with Iraq, from the standpoint of international law and from a political standpoint," said a Kremlin spokesman.
(More: Miami.com News Source)
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