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Moscow has received no clear and irrefutable evidence that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Friday.
"US and British officials have lately made statements that they possess information on Iraq's links with the terrorist organization Al-Qaida, that Iraq assisted (Osama) bin Laden in creating chemical weapons, and other remarks of the like. We, however, have not received any facts or evidence verifying information contained in these statements," Ivanov said.
"The report on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which was presented in London the other day, did not contain obvious evidence of this, either," Ivanov noted.
Ivanov made the comment prior to the scheduled visit to Russia by US Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman, who will arrive in Moscow on Saturday for talks trying to secure Russian support for a tough new United Nations Security Council resolution on Iraq, proposed by the United States and its closest ally Britain.
He warned that any delay in the return of international inspectors to Iraq would be an unforgivable mistake.
Ivanov said Russia was willing to facilitate the return of the arms inspectors and their work.
About 200 inspectors from 44 countries were ready to travel to Iraq immediately, and so were experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency, who would look into Iraq's nuclear programs,Ivanov said.
(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2002)
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