Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the US and British air strikes on Iraqi targets as counterproductive to efforts to resolve Baghdad's standoff with the West.
The Kremlin's press service said Mr Putin had agreed, during a telephone conversation with French President Jacques Chirac, that the raids last Friday were counter-productive for the process of a political settlement.
The Kremlin statement said the two leaders agreed, in a conversation lasting more than half an hour, to work together to re-establish contacts between Iraq and the United Nations.
Russia has been forthright in seeking an end to UN sanctions against Iraq, imposed to punish Baghdad for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. But it has also urged Baghdad to resume dialogue with the United Nations on arms inspections.
France stepped up its criticism of Friday's raids, saying they had no legal basis.