Print This Page Email This Page See Most Sent

• Iraqi Peace Could Be Harder Than War • War and Science Have Long, Uneasy History • Locking Out Household Mold With Steel

U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice told President Vladimir Putin and other top officials Monday that the United States was committed to its partnership with Russia in spite of the two nations' sharp differences over the war in Iraq, a senior U.S. diplomat said.

During a 24-hour visit, Rice met with Russian Security Council chief Vladimir Rushailo, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and Putin's chief of staff, Alexander Voloshin. She and the two Ivanovs also met with Putin, a senior U.S. diplomat said.

Rice stressed the importance of dialogue on post-conflict Iraq and "the need to find practical solutions to humanitarian aspects and the broader reconstruction of the country," the diplomat said.

The diplomat also said that Rice and the Russians had discussed discussed Sunday's incident in which a convoy evacuating the Russian ambassador and other diplomats from Baghdad came under fire. Russia has not blamed the United States for the incident, but the ambassador, Vladimir Titorenko, said Monday that U.S. forces fired on the convoy.

The United States has assured the Russians that no harm was intended but has not accepted blame for the incident, in which the Russian Foreign Ministry said at least four diplomats were wounded, the diplomat said.

"We don't take responsibility," the diplomat said, adding that the convoy was "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

On the eve of Rice's trip, U.S. President George W. Bush spoke with Putin by phone. The two leaders emphasized the need to continue the two countries' political dialogue despite differences over Iraq, according to the Kremlin press service.

Putin has strongly condemned the war in Iraq, but he tempered his tone in several public statements last week, saying that a U.S. defeat would not be in Russia's interests. He said Saturday that the Kremlin would urge Russian lawmakers to ratify a key nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States, which the lower house of parliament had postponed indefinitely last month as a sign of protest ahead of the war.

Some observers say the change in tone reflects Russia's hope of winning a role in Iraq's postwar reconstruction, as well as its desire to prevent further damage to ties with the United States. U.S.-Russian relations had been bolstered by Putin's strong support for the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

Amid the worst strain in years, Washington accused Russian companies of shipping military equipment to Iraq, charges that Moscow angrily denied. Russia, in turn, fumed at U.S. spy plane flights over the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia, near its southern border.

(pvs/ji/sbg)

photo credit and caption:

Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, answers a question as Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov, right, and Commander-in-Chief of Space Forces general Anatoly Perminov listen during a short briefing at the Space Force headquarters in Moscow, Saturday, April 5, 2003. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that his administration would urge lawmakers to ratify a key nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States despite tensions over the war in Iraq. (AP Photo/Sergei Ilnitsky, Pool)

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.