Russian Diplomatic Convoy Fired on Way Out from Baghdad; Iraq Claims to Kill 50 US Invasion Soldiers

06/04/2003| IslamWeb

Iraq said its troops destroyed or damaged 16 US tanks close to Baghdad airport overnight and killed around 50 US invasion soldiers. "Republican Guards are still tightening the noose around the US enemy in the area surrounding the airport," said Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf. "We destroyed six tanks and damaged 10 others and killed 50 of the enemies' forces." He claimed Iraqi troops had shot down two US Apache helicopters in a town south of Baghdad.

They also destroyed a number of other tanks in various clashes in central and southern Iraq, he said.

The convoy carrying the Russian ambassador to Iraq and diplomatic staff was attacked on the road from Baghdad to Syria and there are several injured, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman said.

"The car convoy with members of the Russian embassy in Iraq, including the ambassador, came under attack leaving Baghdad in the direction of the Syrian border," the spokesman told AFP. He said officials did not yet know if the envoy himself was among the injured.

The Russian foreign ministry summoned the US and Iraqi ambassadors to Moscow "urgently and in a harsh way", the spokesman said, adding that it demanded "they take all possible measures to ensure the security of Russian citizens."

President Vladimir Putin has been informed about the incident, the Kremlin press service said.

Russian ambassador to Iraq Vladimir Titorenko left Baghdad for Damascus early Sunday as US invasion troops advanced on the Iraqi capital.

Condoleezza Rice Arrives in Moscow

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice arrived in Moscow Sunday for discussions on deepening U.S.-Russian cooperation in spite of deep differences over the war in Iraq .

Rice was scheduled to meet with a number of top Russian officials, a U.S. Embassy spokesman said. She was to leave Moscow on Monday, said the spokesman, who could not offer specifics on her agenda.

The Interfax news agency reported, citing unnamed sources, that Rice would meet with Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Russian Security Council chief Vladimir Rushailo.

"We are committed to our long-term strategic partnership with Russia," the embassy spokesman said. "We've been through some difficult times, and differences over Iraq have strained the relationship."

Moscow has been strongly opposed to the U.S.-led war, and Russian officials and media alike have often poured derision on U.S. actions. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has struck a softer tone over the past week, saying that a U.S. defeat in Iraq would not be in Moscow's interests and pledging to continue cooperation with the United States.

On Saturday, he said his administration would urge lawmakers to ratify a key nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States, which the lower house of parliament indefinitely postponed last month as a sign of protest ahead of the imminent war.
Some analysts say the change in tone reflects Russia's hope of winning a role in Iraq's postwar reconstruction, as well as preserving its existing economic ties with the United States.

PHOTO 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)