Russia attempts to mend ties with Washington

RUSSIA/US: Having failed to prevent war in Iraq or win pre-eminence for the United Nations in rebuilding the country, Russia and France sued for diplomatic peace with Washington yesterday, when President Putin warmly invited the White House to strengthen ties with Moscow and Paris welcomed the US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell.

Barely two months after threatening to use their UN vetoes to block military action against Baghdad, France and Russia joined an overwhelming Security Council vote backing a US-drafted resolution lifting 13-year-old sanctions on Iraq and outlining plans for the country's immediate political and economic future.

Before the vote, Russia's Defence Minister, Mr Sergei Ivanov, met President Bush in Washington, and handed him a personal note from Mr Putin.

"The message, in particular, notes Russia's readiness to broaden co-operation with the United States in every direction," the Kremlin said in a statement.

"In relations between Russia and the USA . . . there are far more elements that unite us than continue to cause disagreement," Mr Putin wrote, noting that "the US-Russian strategic partnership is in the interests of the entire international community, because it works for the benefit of global stability and security."

Mr Putin's message and Mr Ivanov's talks with top-level US officials are part of Moscow's effort to repair bridges with key ally Washington ahead of a summit between the Russian and US leaders in St Petersburg in 10 days.

Mr Sergei Prikhodko, deputy head of the Kremlin administration, insisted the resolution was a compromise that fulfilled many Russian demands and was "a victory for common sense".

"The resolution puts an end to efforts to decide the Iraq problem outside the UN, and creates an international legal basis for broad efforts from a wide circle of countries to return Iraq to normality," Mr Prikhodko said.

He said the resolution would allow Russian firms to fulfil their existing contracts under the lucrative oil-for-food programme, and "in no way effects or casts doubt upon the long-term contracts of Russian companies in the [Iraqi\] oil sector."

Mr Prikhodko said the Kremlin also approved of clauses giving a UN special representative an "important and independent" role in Iraq, and for resolving the question of Iraq's debt through the Paris Club of creditor nations. Baghdad owes Moscow about $8 billion.

In France, which spearheaded the anti-war alliance, Mr Powell arrived for a meeting of G8 foreign ministers as Paris sought to heal its bitter rift with Washington before Mr Bush dropped in on his way to St Petersburg.

"This is a wonderful day for the people of Iraq," Mr Powell said after the UN vote. "We have to come together to help the Iraqi people. And everybody voting for this resolution today will join in that effort." But he warned that recent disagreements would not be easily forgotten.

"That was not a very pleasant time for any of us and we have to work our way through that."