INTERVIEW WITH IGOR IVANOV
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

September 7, 2002

Question: Igor Sergeyevich, are you fearing any new terrorist acts by Islamic terrorists?

Foreign Minister Ivanov: In the first place I believe it would be incorrect to speak of Islamic terrorists. We are dealing with international terrorism, which has neither a definite religion nor nationality. International terrorists are threatening everybody. Unfortunately, on September 11 we saw that international terrorism is today the main threat for the world community, which we expect has drawn lessons from the tragedy of September 11. An international coalition against terrorism was formed over the past year. Very important decisions were made within the United Nations. There now proceeds the broadening of cooperation among states in the interest of suppressing the activity of extremist terrorist organizations. It is very important not only to preserve, but also to increase the experience amassed over this year. We must be ready for a long and hard struggle against terrorism, and its success will largely depend on how concertedly we act.

Russia had encountered international terrorism long before September 11. International terrorists had begun vigorous actions on the southern borders of Russia many years ago. Both in the Caucasus area and in the Asian sector. We had warned our partners that a real threat was coming from the territory of Afghanistan, because we had had some personal experience of it. I must say that partners, primarily western, both in the US and in Europe, had treated skeptically our appeals before September 11. The 9/11 tragedy showed that international terrorism is a real threat, and now our collaboration is actively developing. We hope that thanks to this cooperation it will become possible to ward off the threat of international terrorism not only from Russia - and we continue to be the target of actions by international terrorism, and our people are dying each day in the Caucasus at terrorists' hands - but from other countries as well. We are ready for such active, joint collaboration with our partners.

Question: To what extent is Islamic terrorism connected with the conflict between Israel and Palestine?

Foreign Minister Ivanov: International terrorists use any excuse to justify their violent actions. Of course, any international conflict is a favorable ground for various kinds of extremists and terrorists. Therefore, we are actively championing the settlement of local conflicts which, by virtue of possible implications, present a global threat. In this connection we must further continue vigorous efforts toward a political settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in order to cut off international terrorists from opportunity to use it for their own purposes.

Question: Some people assert that America is paying for its imperial policy. Do you agree with that?

Foreign Minister Ivanov: International terrorism is threatening everybody. Unfortunately, on September 11 this tragedy befell the American people. You know perfectly well that in the terrorist acts which were perpetrated on September 11 in New York and Washington it was not only Americans who died, but also citizens of many other states, including Russia. Therefore, we believe that one cannot divide the victims of terrorism. We must show solidarity. The tragedy that befell the US could have befallen any other state. And it is very important that as we draw lessons from this tragedy we should realize that only by cooperating and helping each other can we defeat this evil. So long as terrorists exist and the organizations or structures backing them, not a single state can feel secure.

Question: In what measure is the agreement between Russia and NATO, signed in Pratica di Mare this May, useful for the fight against international terrorism?

Foreign Minister Ivanov: By creating the new mechanism for cooperation between Russia and the NATO states, which is called the Russia-NATO Council, among the priorities we set the task of jointly combating international terrorism. This is very important because by combining our efforts we will be able to fight effectively this common evil. The strengthening of cooperation between our countries depends on how effective our struggle will be. Russia is interested in collaboration with the NATO member countries in solving this and other global problems. Our countries today share common democratic values, and stand for the consolidation of legality and international law. We believe that on this basis we will be able to successfully cooperate both in the combating of international terrorism and in counteraction against other threats and challenges. Thus, the creation of the Russia-NATO mechanism was extremely timely and politically justified. That the leaders of our countries gathered and signed in Italy this important document, and launched this mechanism was, undoubtedly, a major stride in the promotion of stability and security in the Euro-Atlantic area. We expect that our collaboration in the struggle against terrorism will be productive.

Question: If the US can prove that Iraq has had links with the Al-Qaida organization, will Russia be able to resist a possible confrontation between the US and Iraq?

Foreign Minister Ivanov: First of all, I would like to say that we have no reliable evidence of cooperation or support by Iraq for the Al-Qaida organization. Moreover, not a single country has presented us with any weighty arguments on that score.

Regarding the settlement of the situation around Iraq as a whole: we believe that it must be based on strict implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Only thus will we be able to achieve a comprehensive settlement of this problem. This settlement presupposes the return to Iraq of international observers, of international inspectors who must answer the world community whether Iraq is carrying out a program for the production of weapons of mass destruction or not. Simultaneously, the Security Council's resolutions envisage that if the commission's findings attest that Iraq is not violating its obligations with regard to weapons of mass destruction, this must open the way to the lifting of sanctions on Iraq. That's the package solution that ought to remove the concerns which the international community may have as regards the availability of weapons of mass destruction to Iraq. At the same time it should open the way for the sanctions regime against Iraq to be discontinued. If we can achieve this, and Russia is carrying out active, consistent work in this direction, then we expect to attain a political settlement around Iraq. To act in a different way, by resorting to force, as some representatives of the US political circles suggest, and especially in circumvention of the UN Security Council would be dangerous, both from the point of view of the situation in the region and with respect to our joint efforts in the struggle against international terrorism. The effectiveness of the antiterrorist coalition will largely depend on the extent to which we will be able to preserve unity in our ranks, on the extent to which our actions are based on the Charter of the United Nations and international law. I believe that it is in the interests of all states not only to maintain, but also to strengthen unity within the international coalition against terrorism. This applies both to individual problems and to the settlement of regional conflicts. In this case to the situation around Iraq.

Question: If UN inspectors prove that Iraq does possess weapons of mass destruction, would you agree to act against Iraq?

Foreign Minister Ivanov: If the international inspects discover evidence bearing out the availability of weapons of mass destruction or the possibility for the production of such weapons, then the international community must seek the liquidation of those weapons and of the means for their production. We have accumulated some experience in this connection during the previous period of work of the international inspectors in Iraq, and so there is absolutely no necessity to use force. The use of force is a last resort, which can only be used with the approval of the UN Security Council, this arises from the UN Charter, and we must all firmly and strictly comply with it.