Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed "serious doubts" about an attack on Iraq but US President George W Bush's plans received a boost when British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair said his country was willing to pay a "blood price" in support of the US.
Following telephone talks between the Russian premier and Mr Bush, Kremlin spokesman Mr Alexei Gromov said: "In the course of the discussions, the president [Putin] expressed his serious doubts concerning the basis - both in international law, and the global-political sense - of using force against Iraq."
The comments reported by Interfax came only minutes after the Kremlin reported Mr Putin expressing similar reservations during telephone talks with Mr Blair.
Earlier, it emerged that Mr Blair had said Britain is willing to pay a "blood price" in its special relationship with the United States.
He was answering questions about Britain and America's historical relationship in a BBC documentary, which is to be aired on Sunday.
Mr Blair, in the Hotline to the Presidentprogramme, was asked about President Bush's apparent desire to attack Iraq.
But Mr Blair said he would never back the United States if he thought it was wrong, although military action is sometimes "inevitable".
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Mr Blair said: "They [America] need to know: 'Are you prepared to commit, are you prepared to be there when the shooting starts?'".
"In the end, Britain is a sovereign nation. Britain decides its own policy and although I back America I would never back America if I thought they were doing something wrong," he said.
"But what you cannot do is to say that this issue of weapons of mass destruction, proliferation of chemical weapons, biological weapons and nuclear capability in the hands of highly unstable states . . . that these are issues that don't need to be dealt with".
Mr Blair will meet President Bush at Camp David tomorrow amid clear signs military strikes on Baghdad will take place soon. President Bush said "history has called us into action" against Iraq on Wednesday.
PA & AFP