IRAQ: Russia cuts embassy staff to 15.

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Att.Editors: The following item is from the Qatar News Agency (QNA)

MOSCOW, Mar 18 2003 (IPS) - Russia decided to cut its embassy staff in Iraq to 15 members, a reliable source said on Tuesday.

"The further fate of the diplomatic mission will be resolved at the top level. It will be decided within the next 48 hours whether the embassy will be temporarily closed, or will continue to work with a small staff, as it was the case in 1991," the source was quoted by Itar-Tass as saying.

According to the source, all Russians who wished to depart from Iraq already left the country. A group of religious leaders from Russia, Moldova and Belarus are now in Baghdad. "They will possibly leave Iraq with the last charter flight on Wednesday, March 19," the source noted. "This can be done even on Tuesday if permission is received from the UN Committee on sanctions against Iraq."