1、Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS21462Updated April 14, 2003Russia and the War in Iraq name redactedSpecialist in Russian and Eurasian AffairsForeign Affairs, Defense, and Trade DivisionSummaryNow that the U.S.-led
2、coalition has overthrown Saddam Husseins regime in Iraq,the question of Russias position on the conflict again focuses on political and economicissues, including Russias role in the UN. President Putin still appears to be trying tobalance three competing interests: protecting Russian economic intere
3、sts in Iraq;restraining U.S. global dominance; and maintaining friendly relations with the UnitedStates. This report will be updated periodically.Decision making in Russia on key national security matters is widely believed to befirmly in the hands of President Vladimir Putin. Putins position on Ira
4、q has beendescribed by many in Russia and the West as an attempt to balance three competinginterests: a) Russias (mostly economic) interests in Iraq; b) Moscows desire to promotea “multi-polar world” and restrain what it perceives as U.S. tendencies toward globaldomination, unilateralism, and too-qu
