- MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian
President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday
dismissed a U.S.-backed draft resolution paving the way for military action
in Iraq and called for new efforts to disarm Baghdad peacefully.
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- Putin and Schroeder have both backed an alternative proposal
to prolong the mandate of U.N. weapons inspectors for at least another
four months.
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- "The position of Russia is well known. We believe
it is unacceptable to adopt a resolution which would automatically grant
the right for the start of a war," Putin said after talks with Schroeder."We
are ready to talk to our colleagues but we are not ready to fight. We believe
that is a bad solution." Schroeder said he still believed the standoff
could be resolved peacefully.
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- "I don't want to speculate on the percentage odds,
but I still hope and expect that given goodwill on the part of all sides
involved in this process, a peaceful solution can be found," he said.
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