"We are not asking for anything permanent. All we ask for is that the Americans agree that they do not bomb certain roads for a certain stretch of time," Leonid Roshal told reporters.

He said he mentioned the plan to President Vladimir Putin and that the Russian leader agreed with the idea.

"I myself asked Putin about this and he said that he supported it," Roshal told reporters. "Who would not want to help children?"

Roshal added that he was still waiting for a formal response from Washington but that the Iraqi ambassador to Russia approved of the plan.

However the Russian doctor said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) -- which would have to play a key role in any such evacuation -- has been hesitant.

"The Red Cross was very cautious and told me it may be too early to review this question," Roshal said without going into further details.

Roshal has worked in many war zones of the former Soviet Union and most recently assisted both civilians and Chechen guerrillas involved in October's three-day Moscow theater hostage standoff in which at least 129 civilians died.

He was awarded with a medal for his efforts by Putin earlier this year.

Roshal said the Iraqi ambassador told him that 95 children were currently laid up in hospital in Baghdad and that most would probably need to be moved to neighboring contries because the Iraqi health system was desparately short on medicine.

"The situation there is difficult but not hopeless," he said.

"I would evacuate all the children but that is a bit difficult," said Roshal while estimating that there may be some two million children currently living in Baghdad.

"So the first step is to remove the injured children."

He added that France and Morocco have already volunteered to treat the wounded.

Russia has fought furiously against the US-led attack on its Soviet-era ally and the Russian emergencies ministry is currently supplying assistance, through Iran, to northeastern areas of Iraq near areas controlled by the separatist Kurds.

Roshal said he would fly to ICRC headquarters in Geneva on Wednesday to promote his plan.

The Russian doctor -- who specializes in treatment of children -- said he would be in New York on Sunday to lobby the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to also support the project.

Meanwhile the chief of the Russian Committee of the Red Cross said the children would have to be evacuated to neighboring countries like Iran and Jordan because it was currently too dangerous for doctors to work in Iraq.

"We would not be able to guarantee the safety of our staff," Tatyana Nikolayenko said.

But she stressed that the situation was more serious that the ICRC might want to admit.

"The television footage we get here confirms that this is an emergency situation," she said. "We have very grave concerns."

Roshal for his part admitted that his idea may be a long-shot -- but that he was ready to fight for it until the end.

"Everything starts with a utopian dream and sometimes these later turn into reality," said Roshal.

SPACE.WIRE