Addressing an audience of international jurists at Saint Petersburg's Law Faculty where he once studied, Putin noted that "the world is changing and the system of international law must evolve and improve in consequence."

French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, with whom Putin wound up a two-day summit on determining a UN role in the postwar rehabilitation of Iraq, heard Putin warn of the dangers posed by the failings of the current system.

"Politicians base their activities on the norms of international law, and the fact that these mechanisms are not effective can have serious consequences," Putin told the international forum on "Peace, Security and World Law".

"International law was built up piece by piece, year after year, including the tragic experiences of the two world wars," Putin noted.

As a result, there were "internal contradictions capable of leading to conflicts."

Putin stressed the centrality of the United Nations which, despite its shortcomings, he believed should play the key role in the management of world crises.

On Friday, during the "peace camp" summit called to discuss the postwar situation in Iraq, Putin noted that the current system "should be improved but not discarded because there is nothing else to replace it."

Referring not only to the Iraq crisis but also to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Putin told jurists: "I believe that if we had devised mechanisms in time for resolving the current international crises, we would have been much more effective in settling international problems without stepping outside the limits of the law."

Russia has contested the legal basis of the US-led action in Iraq, undertaken without the backing of what many international jurists regard as the necessary UN Security Council resolution affirming support.

With its antiwar partners France and Germany, it has insisted that the postwar rehabilitation of Iraq must take place within a UN framework if it is to have legitimacy.

In its analysis of the outcome of the summit, the centrist daily Izvestia noted that the intention of the three leaders had been to "show to the United States and the rest of the world how important the Moscow-Paris-Berlin axis considers the rules of international conduct."

But it concluded that the meeting would "make no serious changes in the world landscape."

For Izvestia, "it is a little too soon to conclude that Russia is already committed to reforming the United Nations.

"But sooner or later all the permanent members of the UN Security Council will be making proposals for a new San Francsisco agreement" -- a reference to the Conference on International Organisation in the US city where the UN Charter was signed in June 1945.

The paper noted that Russian officials "have no illusions" regarding the effectiveness of UN resolutions or of the durability of the present Franco-German-Russian axis.

Their view is that "the Iraq issue will pass, and Russia and the United States will resume a normal dialogue."

But "we cannot afford to remain silent, because that would imply that we agree with their (US) methods," the paper quoted officials as saying.

SPACE.WIRE