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Russia rebuffs Blair dossier
WARSAW, Poland -- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has dismissed the "propaganda furore" surrounding the dossier on Iraq published by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. The dossier, published on Tuesday, said Iraq could launch a chemical or biological attack at 45 minutes' notice and produce nuclear weapons in one or two years with components from abroad. But Ivanov told reporters: "I believe that only specialists and experts can judge whether or not Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. We have therefore sought the fastest possible return to Iraq of inspectors. "It therefore seems to us that it is not worth creating a great propaganda furore around this report. We should wait for the conclusions of the experts. Only after that can any conclusions be drawn," he said. Russia, attending a NATO meeting in Poland on Wednesday in its new role as an alliance partner, said it faced a greater threat from Chechen rebels hiding in neighbouring Georgia than it did from Iraq. Russia holds a veto at the U.N. Security Council, along with France, China, the UK and the U.S. The Russian media has speculated that Moscow is seeking a free hand from Washington to wipe out Chechen hideouts in Georgia in return for backing U.S. moves on Iraq. Meanwhile, German Defence Minister Peter Struck said on Wednesday there was nothing new in the information presented to the ministers and there was no evidence linking al Qaeda and Baghdad. "Our priority is to enable quick inspections on the ground in Iraq," he said. "I got the impression there is understanding and also some support for our position." A French Foreign Ministry spokesman said France's President Jacques Chirac had seen signs but not firm proof that would support the accusations in Blair's report. "We have accepted the British evaluations and are comparing them with our own," the spokesman told Reuters news agency. However, there are hints of a policy shift by China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Beijing would consider a possible U.N. resolution authorising strikes if Iraq did not meet demands for weapons inspections. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters at the meeting that U.S. intelligence had determined there was a link between Iraq and the al Qaeda terrorist network, but he refused to elaborate. Rumsfeld said U.S. officials shared information linking Iraq and al Qaeda -- the terrorist network behind the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington -- with NATO defence ministers. (Full story)
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