Putin and Blair Still at Odds Over Sanctions

Meeting for the first time since the start of the war in Iraq, Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Tony Blair came together outside Moscow to discuss Iraqi reconstruction and the possible lifting of United Nations sanctions against the war-torn country.

The United States, with British backing, has called for an immediate end to the sanctions imposed on Iraq after its 1990 Kuwait invasion. The U.S. hopes to use the proceeds from the sale of oil to help finance reconstruction.

But the Russians stayed their course, calling for a stronger U.N. role in postwar Iraq and insisting that sanctions can only be lifted after U.N. weapons inspectors -- not those installed by the U.S. interim administration -- certify that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction.

Looking for weapons of mass destruction

In a press conference following the two hour meeting at a presidential compound just outside of Moscow, President Putin had strong words for Blair and his allies, the Americans: "Sanctions were imposed on Iraq on the basis of suspicions that it held weapons of mass destruction -- sanctions can only be removed if there is no suspicion and it is only the Security Council that can remove these sanctions because it imposed them in the first place."

The statement surely came as a disappointment to Blair, who traveled to Russia hoping to persuade Putin to support the American and British position on sanctions, thereby avoiding another showdown over an Iraq-related issue.

"Are we going to find a way together for the future or have the same standoff we have had for the past few months," asked Blair.

Nonetheless, Putin held his ground, expressing concern that weapons still unaccounted for could pose be a major problem for the international community. "Where is Saddam? Where is his arsenal of weapons? Did they even exist and what's happened to them? Maybe Saddam's sitting in a secret bunker somewhere, planning to explode all this stuff at the last minute and threatening hundreds of lives," he said.

Putin noted that one of the original goals of the war -- to find and destroy weapons of mass destruction -- had not been achieved. The possibility still exists that these weapons, if Iraq had them at all, could fall into the wrong hands.

Common ground

Despite the ongoing tussle over sanctions and how best to root out weapons of mass destruction, the two did come closer on other concrete issues, namely the development of democracy in postwar Iraq.

Blair proposed a three-part plan: the first phase would concentrate on getting reconstruction under control, ensuring security and improving the humanitarian situation, the second phase on the creation of a provisional administration and the third on the creation of a new constitution and elections.

Putin's response to the plan was favorable, deeming it a good basis from which to proceed. However, he stressed that the U.N. should play a vital role in all three phases. The transfer of power to the Iraqi people should not be delayed, he warned. What's more, Putin said he was prepared to discuss the debts Iraq owed to Russia, a previous area of concern.

The Russians, like the Germans and French who joined them in opposing the U.S.-led war against Iraq, have been looking for ways to reconcile with the Americans and British, fearing their companies would otherwise be locked out of Iraqi reconstruction projects. Their ability to resolve the debate over sanctions could be an important indicator of how relations are likely to proceed -- either on a cooperative or antagonistic basis.