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Russian role for Iraq, N.Korea
MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- A top Russian diplomat is heading to Baghdad for talks focused on the crisis around Iraq and another envoy is to travel to North Korea. Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov, Russia's leading Iraq expert, would lead "consultations with the Iraqi side." "He will present our views and consider possible steps to ensure a political and diplomatic solution to the Iraqi problem," ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said in a statement. "Issues relating to economic cooperation between Russia and Iraq, including oil and gas, will also be considered," he said. Yakovenko said that after visiting Iraq, Saltanov would head to Jordan and Lebanon to discuss the situation in the region. Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on Wednesday that Russia's plan to send an envoy to North Korea in the near future could be a key move in resolving the nuclear crisis there. At a news conference after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, ElBaradei said that "the elements of a solution are there on the table. It just needs a broker." CNN's Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty says that Russia plans to send a delegation to Pyongyang in the next few days, expressing concern about North Korea's decision to withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Saltanov will stay in Baghdad until the end of the week, Russian media reported. They said that along with crisis settlement, Saltanov would likely focus on Iraq's decision to cancel a multibillion-dollar contract with Russia's largest company, Lukoil, to develop the West Qurna-2 oilfields. Russia's First Deputy Energy Minister Ivan Matlashov and oil chiefs will be in the delegation. Iraqi officials said they had broken the deal with Lukoil because the company failed to begin work on the contract, dismissing Lukoil's argument that it was hampered by U.N. sanctions on Iraq. Iraq's action against Lukoil closely followed Russia's support for a tough U.N. resolution requiring Baghdad to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors. However, Iraqi officials have denied any political motives. ElBaradei told reporters in Moscow that weapons inspectors in Iraq need "a few months" to complete their search for any indication that Saddam Hussein is developing weapons of mass destruction. "We are inching forward with the inspections but we need more time, at least a few months," to make a decision, ElBaradei said after his meeting with Ivanov. "We have started to receive the specific actionable material" and will begin to work on that material, he said. When asked if that meant he had specific proof of weapons of mass destruction, the IAEA chief said "no." However, he did say the material dealt with sites the inspectors should be visiting. ElBaradei also mentioned that there was a certain degree of impatience within the international community about the inspections. Suggesting Saddam needed to do more, ElBaradei said he and Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix will ask Iraq "to shift gears from passive cooperation to active cooperation" when they visit Baghdad on January 19. CNN's Dougherty says that visit will come as inspectors are due to report to the U.N. Security Council on January 27 on what they have found in Iraq so far. But that, she says, will only be an update -- not a conclusive analysis. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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