The War in Iraq - March 2003

 

 

 

 

Countries of the FSU React to the War in Iraq

Armenia	Azerbaijan	Belarus
Estonia	Georgia	Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan	Latvia	Lithuania
Moldova	Russia	Tajikistan
Turkmenistan	Ukraine	Uzbekistan

 

---

ARMENIA AGAIN DENIES U.S. HAS REQUESTED USE OF AIR BASE


(RFE/RL) There is no truth to media reports that the United States is negotiating with Armenia to lease a military airfield, Defense Ministry spokesman Colonel Seiran Shahsuvarian told Arminfo on 25 March, according to Groong. He added that Washington has not made any written or oral requests for the use of the Shirak airfield in northern Armenia. The daily "Haykakan zhamanak" reported on 25 March that the United States has written to the Defense Ministry requesting the use of the Shirak facility. Oskanian last week denied a 15 March report in the same newspaper that the United States had asked to lease a military airfield at either Stepanavan, Djermuk, or Kapan.


ARMENIA EXPRESSES REGRET AT START OF WAR IN IRAQ

(RFE/RL) Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told journalists in Yerevan on 20 March that "we regret that diplomacy has produced no positive results and that Iraq's disarmament is not occurring peacefully," RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. He added that the Armenian leadership sees no point in either supporting or opposing the war, but merely hopes that it will end swiftly and without inflicting undue suffering on the Iraqi people. Also on 20 March, Armenian police spokesman Artak Vardazarian told Arminfo that security has been heightened at all strategic facilities, according to Groong. 

return to top

---

Azerbaijan Considers Opening Airspace



Moscow Times, March 24, 2003

BAKU, Azerbaijan -- (AP) Azerbaijan may open its airspace and airports for refueling military planes in the U.S.-led campaign against Iraq , the defense minister said Friday. 

Defense Minister Safar Abiyev said the United States had requested Azerbaijan's help and that consultations were under way. However, he said Azerbaijan would not take part directly in military operations in Iraq. 

Abiyev said that the airspace question would be decided "with time." 

"We are continuing to cooperate with the United States, but not a single American airplane has yet used our airspace," Abiyev told reporters. 

Later Friday, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that it supports the efforts of the international coalition, directed toward the quick resolution of the Iraqi crisis. Azerbaijan called for all humanitarian rights to be strictly adhered to during the military campaign. 

The statement said Azerbaijan was ready to "participate in the humanitarian rehabilitation of a post-conflict Iraq."


U.S. Ambassador To Azerbaijan Is Optimistic About War In Iraq 

The U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan Ross Wilson called Azerbaijan respectfully among the states supporting Washington it the war against Iraq. 

Baku Today, March 24, 2003

(ANS) -- The United States of America is very pleased of Azerbaijan's aid and being among 44 states supporting Washington. Mr. Wilson estimated the negotiations with authorities concerning the aid successful but declined to go into details. 

The ambassador said the support of 44 states would be either of military forces, allowing America to use air space, political support, or participation in the rehabilitation of Iraq after the war. He said each country must determine itself in which form to grant aids and that's why it wouldn't be right to elaborate about it. 

However he estimated the negotiations successful and urged to continue the discussions. Ross Wilson noted UN Security Council played an important role in the liquidation of crises in Persian Gulf and said the military operations will be carried out until the end. According to him the ignorance of 687 and 1441 resolutions by Iraq, ineffective activity of weapon inspectors, useless 12-year diplomacy made it necessary to start war in Iraq. Besides Mr. Wilson said that the statements by several states included to Security Council to use the right of veto laid grounds for anti-Iraq coalition to begin war. "We realized that we had no other choice except the war taking into consideration the threat of Iraq to the whole world and us," he said. 

The ambassador expressed his believe of military operations to be successful and said a stable policy will be pursued in the Gulf after the war. 

This report provided by ANS TV. 


return to top

---

Republic of Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Statement

The Republic of Belarus expresses its deep concern due to commencement of the military action against Iraq by the United States of America and Great Britain.

The use of military force against a sovereign state without sanctions of the UN Security Council violates the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and international law. 
These actions ignore the opinion of the majority of international community, cause damage to the existing system of international relations and harshly aggravate the situation in the Persian Gulf and Middle East region. 

The Republic of Belarus advocates prompt cessation of military actions and resolution of the Iraqi issue exclusively within the framework of chartered authority of the UN Security Council, which bears the main responsibility for supporting of international peace and security.

Lukashenko Likens Iraq War to Nazi Crimes

Moscow Times, March 24, 2003

MINSK, Belarus -- (AP) Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday likened the U.S. war in Iraq to Nazi war crimes but later called for improving strained ties with Washington. 

Speaking on the anniversary of the 1943 Nazi massacre in the Belarussian village of Khatyn, whose residents were burned alive, Lukashenko drew parallels with what he dubbed a "cynical" U.S. aggression against Iraq. 

"The events in Khatyn show the essence of any aggressor," Lukashenko said in a statement broadcast throughout the day on state television. "The lessons of history teach certain people nothing." 

He went on to condemn the U.S. military assault in Iraq. 

But Lukashenko struck a different note later in the day during the naming of a new ambassador to the United States, saying he wanted "to normalize relations with the U.S." 

"Relations with the U.S. can't be built on a confrontational basis," he said, announcing the appointment of Foreign Minister Mikhail Khastou as his new ambassador to the U.S. and Mexico. 

Siargei Martynau, a 50-year-old career diplomat who has served in the United States, Belgium and the UN, will replace Khastou.

return to top

---

Estonian Govt Hopes War in Iraq Will End Soon 
 

March 20 2003 Tallinn -- (Interfax) At an emergency session following the beginning of the war in Iraq on Thursday, the Estonian government expressed regret that Baghdad had not used its opportunities for a peaceful settlement of the crisis. 

Estonia voiced hope that minimal use of force will be needed for the operation in Iraq, the Cabinet's press service told Interfax. 

"The government understands the importance of disarming Iraq. The world must be firmly convinced that there are no weapons of mass destruction on Iraq's territory. This is in the interests of the entire world," the report says. 

The Estonian government hopes that the hostilities in Iraq will not cause a humanitarian catastrophe or prompt a major flow of refugees. 
Estonia also pointed out that "the United Nations should play a central role in the post-conflict period." 

Estonia Backs Iraq War Despite Possible Economic Obstacles 

March 19 2003 Tallinn -- (Interfax) Although the Iraq war might cause complications for the Estonian economy, Tallinn supports a military resolution of the crisis, Estonian President Arnold Ruutel told the Postimees newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday. 

"Not a single war passes without consequences. The possible military operation will influence the world market. A likely rise in prices will have an impact on the Estonian economy," Ruutel said. 

"I regret that the UN Security Council failed to agree on a new Iraqi resolution on March 17. However, I believed that Resolution No 1441 stipulates a legal basis for using force and was unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council members on November 8, 2002," he said. 

The resolution warns Iraq of serious consequences unless it voluntarily disarms. "Resolution No 1441 shows the world's decisiveness to the Iraqi regime and gave Iraq the last opportunity to disarm. Iraq has failed to use this opportunity," he said. 

return to top

---

GEORGIA READY TO SUPPORT U.S. MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAQ 

(RFE/RL) Georgian Defense Minister Lieutenant General David Tevzadze told journalists in Tbilisi on 19 March that Georgia is prepared to provide any assistance it can to the U.S. military offensive against Iraq, Caucasus Press reported. Tevzadze said the most likely request would be for the use of Georgian airspace, but added that no request for help of any kind has yet been forthcoming, and it is unlikely that such a request would be made just hours before the beginning of hostilities. On 18 March, Georgian National Security Council Secretary Tedo Djaparidze told Caucasus Press that the question of Georgia's direct participation in the war "is not on the agenda." But Djaparidze mentioned the possibility that Georgia could provide facilities for U.S. troops should the Turkish parliament again refuse to make its territory available to the United States for the campaign against Iraq.

Georgian Intelligence Service Director Lieutenant General Avtandil Ioseliani said on 19 March that he does not envisage an influx of refugees from Iraq, as Kurds fleeing that country are more likely to head for Armenia, Caucasus Press reported. Security measures have been intensified at Georgian airports and military bases and at foreign embassies in Tbilisi, ITAR-TASS reported on 19 March. 

return to top

---

Kazakhstan Points Finger at Hussein

Moscow Times, March 24, 2003

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- (AP) Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry on Friday blamed Saddam Hussein for the start of a new war in the Persian Gulf, but also expressed concern about the international community's lack of unity over the crisis. 

"The responsibility for the latest developments lies with Saddam Hussein, who has failed to provide convincing evidence of his country's disarmament," the ministry said in a statement. 

The Foreign Ministry also said that it was worried by the "dangerous" split in the world community over Iraq, warning that this could have unpredictable consequences. 

Kazakhstan, which has allowed the U.S.-led coalition to use its airspace as part of the military campaign in Afghanistan, said it deeply regretted the civilian losses that the military operation against Iraq would involve. 

Also Friday, several dozen demonstrators protested the war outside the U.S. Embassy in Almaty. They held a portrait of U.S. President George W. Bush crossed with a red line.

return to top

---

KYRGYZSTAN REGRETS BYPASSING OF SECURITY COUNCIL 

(RFE/RL) Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Askar Aitmatov on 20 March expressed the Kyrgyz government's regret that the recommendations of the UN Security Council concerning Iraq were being ignored, akipress.org and ITAR-TASS reported. Aitmatov warned that an unfortunate precedent was being set and added that Kyrgyzstan has always favored a political settlement based on Security Council resolutions. He expressed the hope that the war in Iraq will be brief, that civilian casualties can be minimized, and that weapons of mass destruction will not be used. Aitmatov also said Kyrgyzstan intends to maintain good relations with both the United States and Russia. The United States, he said, is helping Kyrgyzstan to ensure its independence and national security and to carry out democratic reforms. 

return to top

 

---

Embassy of Latvia - Press Release

(via fax to NCSJ on March 20)
Latvia regrets that Saddam Hussein has managed to split the international community, making any further diplomatic efforts to resolve the situation impossible. Latvia will support the involvement of the UN in the post-conflict rebuilding and establishment of a democratic Iraq. We are convinced that active involvement by the UN following the conclusion of military action in Iraq will secure the authority of the UN in the international community.

return to top

---

MOLDOVAN PREMIER 'CONCERNED' ABOUT OUTBREAK OF HOSTILITIES IN IRAQ

(RFE/RL) Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev on 20 March told journalists in Chisinau that he is "concerned" about the outbreak of military hostilities in Iraq, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. Tarlev said that Baghdad "evidently bears a great share of responsibility" for the hostilities. Moldova's position, he said, has been explained in detail at the UN and other international forums, and it is now necessary to "make all possible efforts to end this war as quickly as possible and to restore peace and global stability." It is important, he said, that Moldova "not contribute to the bloodshed."

return to top

---

PUTIN DEPLORES U.S. RESORT TO 'LAW OF THE FIST' IN IRAQ 

(RFE/RL) - In a statement responding to the onset of U.S.-led military operations against the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, President Vladimir Putin said on 20 March that Washington has made "a big political mistake," and insisted on the quickest possible cessation of hostilities, Russian news agencies reported. Putin deplored the idea that "international law is being replaced by the law of the fist and the principle that the strongest are always right." 

He added that Iraq poses no danger to the international community, and said that Russia's policy will be "to return the crisis to a peaceful track and to search for a solution to the Iraq problem based on UN resolutions." He said that he has already received reports of casualties and damage in Iraq. 

return to top

---

Foreign Ministry Issues Statement on Start of War in Iraq
 

(UkraineInfo) - "Ukraine expresses regret at the inability of the Security Council of the United Nations Organization, as a collective organ that bears the basic responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, to find was of resolving the crisis surrounding Iraq and the failure to fully use political and diplomatic methods to resolve it, a situation that has resulted in the outbreak of military conflict," the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The ministry called on all the participants in the conflict surrounding Iraq to do everything possible to minimize the number of casualties among the peaceful population.

Ukraine confirms its position of principle that it is important not to allow destabilization of the situation in the Middle East or violation of international humanitarian laws and that it is necessary to preserve the territorial integrity of Iraq, the ministry said in the statement.

Ukraine is prepared to make its contribution to the restoration of peace and stability in Iraq and participate in providing humanitarian and other aid to the people of the countries in the region, including during the post-conflict period, the ministry further said in the statement.

UKRAINE VOICES 'CONCERN'; U.S. RESPONDS TO KUCHMA'S DEPLOYMENT OFFER 

(RFE/RL) Ukraine views the U.S. ultimatum to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with "deep concern," a Foreign Ministry spokesman told Interfax on 18 March. Ukraine will oppose a U.S. war against Iraq in the absence of UN approval, the spokesman added. "Ukraine expresses its concern over the failure to reach a consensus [on Iraq] within the framework of the United Nations Security Council," Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said in a statement released the same day. Both announcements came after a meeting of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council to discuss the Iraq crisis, among other issues, and were the first strong indication of Ukrainian opposition to Washington's policy in Persian Gulf. 

Kuchma asked the Verkhovna Rada on 18 March to approve of sending Ukraine's anti-nuclear, -biological, and -chemical (NBC) battalion to Kuwait (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 10 March 2003), UNIAN reported, quoting presidential spokeswoman Olena Hromnytska. Kuwait requested the battalion's presence, Ukraine and Kuwait subsequently agreed on the dispatch of those troops, and the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council approved the move, the spokeswoman added. 

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told Kuchma by telephone on 18 March that he appreciates Ukraine's readiness to deploy the NBC battalion to the Gulf region to help in the event of an Iraqi attack with chemical or nuclear weapons, Reuters reported, quoting the Ukrainian president's press office. "Such a step by Ukraine will help deepen cooperation and put relations on a new level," the president's office quoted Armitage as saying. Relations between Ukraine and the United States deteriorated last year after Washington accused Kuchma of approving the sale of a Kolchuga radar system to Iraq. 

UKRAINIAN BATTALION TO LEAVE FOR KUWAIT

By Raisa Stetsyura

KIEV, March 20 (Itar-Tass) - The Supreme Rada (parliament) of Ukraine gave its consent on Thursday to send a Ukrainian battalion that specializes in warfare in nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons environments to Kuwait. The parliament thereby supported the request from President Leonid Kuchma. 258 MPs voted in favour; the minimum number of votes required was 226.

Yevgeny Marchuk, secretary of the Ukrainian Council for National Defence and Security, assured parliament that the battalion will not take part in combat operations, but will only perform "rescue functions," in accordance with its legal status.

The redeployment of the 550-man battalion, formed on a contract basis, will be completed within ten days. Under the agreement with Kuwait, the battalion is going to that country for a period of six months, with a possible extension of the mandate for another three months "under special circumstances."

The battalion will be under the command of the Ukrainian General Staff.

return to top

---

Uzbekistan Joins Coalition to Disarm Iraq, Intends to Take Part In Iraq's Postwar Reconstruction 

UzLand.com, March 19, 2003

(AP) A senior Uzbek official said Wednesday that this Central Asian nation had joined the U.S.-led coalition for the disarmament of Iraq but would not be involved in military operations. 

Abdulaziz Komilov, state adviser to President Islam Karimov on foreign policy issues, told The Associated Press that Uzbekistan, which is hosting hundreds of U.S. troops at an air base within striking distance of Iraq, intends to take part only in the postwar reconstruction of Iraq. 

Komilov, who until last week held the post of foreign minister, declined to say whether the Khanabad air base would be used in a war against Iraq. 

Uzbekistan was the first of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia to offer its airspace and military bases for the anti-terrorism coalition forces after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to support military operations in neighboring Afghanistan. 

Uzbekistan is the only Central Asian nation and one of just three former Soviet republics to be included in the U.S. list of 30 countries committed to the immediate disarmament of Iraq. The other former Soviet republics in the coalition are the Caucasus countries of Azerbaijan and Georgia. 

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Tuesday that each member of the coalition was "contributing in the ways that it deems the most appropriate." 

Also Wednesday, official Uzbek newspapers carried the text of a letter from U.S. President George Bush to Karimov, in which Bush thanked Karimov for his "courageous" decision after Sept. 11 to support the global anti-terrorism campaign. 

"We are facing another challenge due to Saddam Hussein's refusal to obey the world community," the letter said. It said no single country could counter the countries that support terrorism and broad international cooperation was necessary. 

"Uzbekistan's contribution to these efforts is significant and I am extremely grateful for that," the letter said. 

Karimov gave strong backing earlier this month to the U.S. position on Iraq and implied that no new U.N. resolution would be necessary to justify the use of force to disarm the country.

See also: Uzbekistan Supports U.S. Position on Iraq

return to top