SEOUL. April 10 (Interfax-AVN) - With the beginning of the war in Iraq, the demand for Russian weapons in the world has significantly increased, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has said.
"As a result of the war in Iraq and allegations that Russia was illegally selling weapons to Baghdad, the demand for Russian weapon systems has sharply increased," the minister told journalists in Seoul on Thursday.
"In the past month, the number of bids to the Russian Defense Ministry for up-to-date conventional weapons has rapidly increased on the part of a lot of states. Thanks for the free advertising," Ivanov noted.
"The fact that the war in Iraq has boosted the arms race not only in North Korea, but also throughout the world is beyond doubt," he said.
Commenting to Interfax on the course of the war in Iraq, Ivanov said, "The development of the military operation in Iraq was basically predictable to us."
"We are closely following the development of the situation in Iraq, using all lawful means. This is not our war, and it is better to study military conflicts on the examples of others, rather than on your own," he said.
Ivanov said he is convinced that the settlement of the situation in Iraq will eventually be delegated to the UN. "The sooner the Iraqi settlement is returned to the UN framework, the better. Sooner or later, this will inevitably happen," he said.
"An occupation administration cannot stand forever, and the Americans themselves admit this. The moment when the powers will be delegated from the occupation authorities to international forces, particularly UN institutions, will inevitably come," Ivanov said.