Itar-Nass News Agency
January 25, 2004

Davos, Switzerland: A Russian parliamentary delegation will be formed soon for a trip to Iraq, Chairman of the Federation Council’s International Committee Mikhail Margelov told Itar-Tass on Sunday.

Margelov and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hushyar Zibari discussed the trip in Davos on Saturday. They said it was important for Russian companies as never before to stay in Iraq and take part in the reconstruction of the Iraqi infrastructure. “The economy of new Iraq cannot be based solely on oil, and we absolutely agree with the foreign minister in that,” Margelov said.

“It would be reasonable to exchange some of the Iraqi debts to Russia to the resumption of Russian-Iraqi contracts, primarily the Lukoil development of oil fields,” Margelov said.

“Soon we will form a delegation and go to Iraq under the flag of the Society for Solidarity with Peoples of Asia and Africa I lead. It will be a humanitarian trip, but we will also speak about the interests of the Russian economy and the Russian business,” he remarked.

“There is an impression that the United States is getting stuck in Iraq, which causes a change in the attitude of the American administration to the UN role in the settlement,” Margelov said. “The Iraqi leader is captured, but the resistance goes on and nobody knows when it will stop. Iraqis regard the bearers of Western democracy as occupants and representatives of a civilization absolutely alien to Islam, and that was to be expected. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the official reason for the beginning of war has not been proven – weapons of mass destruction have not been found in Iraq,” he noted.