Iraq lobbies for Russian backing

Ivanov and Aziz met on Thursday

MOSCOW, Russia -- Iraq has appealed for support from Russia in the face of what Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz says is the "real threat" of U.S. military action.

Aziz, who is visiting Russia, said the U.S. was increasing pressure on Iraq in preparation for an "aggression."

He won some backing from State Duma speaker Gennady Seleznyov during a meeting in Moscow on Friday.

Aziz, quoted by The Associated Press, said: "There is a real threat that the United States and its allies will launch strikes on Iraq."

Seleznyov, a Communist, said in a Duma press statement that Russia would "strongly oppose" such an action.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has already warned that moving the anti-terrorism campaign to Iraq would threaten the international coalition against terror and destabilise the region.

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Ivanov met Aziz on Thursday and said after the talks: "Russia does not accept an automatic spread of the anti-terrorism efforts to any other state including Iraq.

"If that happened, it would not only weaken the international anti-terrorism coalition, but would also play into the hands of extremist forces which would like to ruin this coalition."

Ivanov said any military actions by the U.S.-led coalition must be coordinated by the U.N. Security Council, where Russia has a veto.

Aziz said: "We in Iraq will not yield to American threats. If they launch an aggression against Iraq, Iraq will defend itself with courage and self-denial, which they have seen for the past 11 years." On Friday, the Russian foreign ministry issued a statement rareaffirmingoscow's desire for an agreement to lift the sanctions imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The statement said Russia wanted a "comprehensive settlement that would allow for the gradual lifting of sanctions in connection with the resumption of Iraqi co-operation with the United Nations in the disarmament sphere."

Russia backed the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, but sees Iraq as a friend and key trading partner.

Moscow hopes the lifting of sanctions would allow Iraq to repay its massive Soviet-era debt to Moscow.

The foreign ministry statement said the resumption of Iraq's dialogue with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan would help end the deadlock in the Iraqi settlement.

Aziz said on Thursday that Baghdad "is ready to continue a dialogue" with Annan, but "without any preliminary conditions.

The sanctions against Iraq can only be lifted if U.N. inspectors verify that Iraq has dismantled its weapons of mass destruction.

The inspectors left the country ahead of U.S.-British strikes on Iraq in 1998, and Baghdad has refused to readmit them, calling them "U.S. spies."