The Guardian
Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow and Nicholas Watt

Russia last night dropped its objections to the Anglo-American diplomatic offensive to secure a tough new United Nations security council resolution on Iraq.
As Downing Street declared that a resolution could be agreed within days, Russia declared that it would support a tightening of the rules on UN weapons inspectors after its concerns over Chechen terrorists in neighbouring Georgia were met.

Speaking after three days of intensive discussions with Washington, the Russian defence minister, Sergei Ivanov, said that Moscow has "not come out against a resolution tightening the regime of work of inspectors in Iraq". His remarks, at a press conference in Madrid, appeared to reverse Russia's insistence that no new UN resolution was needed in the wake of Baghdad's offer to allow UN inspectors to return to Iraq without conditions.

Moscow appears to have softened its position after Chechen rebels reportedly abandoned the mountainous region of the Pankisi gorge, on the border between Georgia and the Russian province of Chechnya. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, used the anniversary of the September 11 attacks to threaten an invasion of Georgia to flush out the terrorists.

The Kremlin threat - designed to align Russia's battle against Chechen "terrorists" with Washington's onslaught against Iraq - prompted criticism from the Bush administration which demanded respect for Georgia's sovereignty. Intensive diplomacy by the US, which is believed to have put pressure on Georgia's President Eduard Shevardnadze, appears to have paid off.

The Russian defence minister said in Madrid that Moscow was now satisfied that Chechen "rebels and terrorists" had left the mountainous region of the Pankisi gorge. Mr Ivanov said yesterday: "Rebels and international terrorists staying in Georgia maintain contacts with the country's authorities. The bands retreated from the Pankisi gorge in compliance with an understanding." He added with a touch of sarcasm: "It was as easy as that".

While Russia's apparent change of heart clears the way for a new security council resolution, Moscow made clear that it would not be plain sailing for Britain and the US. Mr Ivanov suggested a two-stage process, which may not fit with Anglo-American demands for a new resolution immediately. "I suggest that movement in two directions is acceptable: UN inspectors work in Iraq and, in New York, diplomats work on developing draft texts of documents on Iraq."

Baghdad owes Moscow $7bn (£5bn) and Russian firms are regularly signing million dollar contracts to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure. The Kremlin fears such profitable ventures may disappear along with Saddam Hussein's regime.

Reproduced from:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/chechnya/Story/0,2763,797846,00.html