Putin appeals to UN to end violence in Iraq

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030829/wl_afp/iraq_russia_italy&cid=1512&ncid=1606

PORTO ROTONDO, Italy (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said greater United Nations involvement was needed in Iraq to end the escalating violence there.

"We are witnessing an escalation of the violence in Iraq. The spiral is accelerating," he told a news conference in the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, where he was meeting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

"The most urgent thing is to end this escalation and the best way is to involve the United Nations more," he said.

The remarks came hours after Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim, a leading Shiite Muslim cleric, and 81 other people were killed in a car bomb in the holy city of Najaf in Iraq.

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[Aidoneus]

1. hypocrite

UN peacekeepers into Baghdad, but stay out of Grozny..

[NNN0LHI]

3. He is calling Little Boots bluff here

I don't believe for one minute that Putin would vote to authorize any UN action until all of the oil contracts Russia signed with the Hussein government before the US invaded are recognized. And Putin knows that will not happen anytime soon. Just as we do.

Don

[bemildred]

4. I'm with NNN0LHI here.

Pooty-poot is enjoying watching the situation in Iraq.
This is working great for him, and he's just a taking a jab at Shrub.
Of course, he is a politician, so hypocrisy is second nature.

[chesley]

2. Well we know,

than the UN is also considered an enemy by the Iraqi fanatics and imported terrorists. How is the UN going to ensure the peace? Will it involve shooting people?

[legin]

5. I wish I knew how Putin stood on things

"...in the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, where he was meeting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi."

I'm sorry but I have to ask the question why Putin is meeting this little shit, especially in such a informal and pleasant setting.