Russia, Libya urge halt to war in Iraq

MOSCOW (AFP) Apr 02, 2003
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and his Libyan counterpart Abdel Rahman Shalgham called for a swift halt to hostilities in Iraq and return to diplomatic solutions to the crisis, the foreign ministry here said late Wednesday.

In telephone talks Wednesday, "both sides stressed that military action against Iraq must be stopped as soon as possible and the situation brought into the field of international law," the ministry said in a statement.

The two ministers also discussed bilateral ties as well as the overall situation in the Middle East "in the context of the war against Iraq", the ministry added.

Russia, along with France and Germany, has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the US-led war to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and has urged a diplomatic solution to the crisis within the framework of the United Nations.

SPACE.WIRE