British dossier is scorned as 'propaganda'

Russia has dismissed as a "propaganda furore" the news surrounding Britain's dossier giving details of Iraqi efforts to pursue its weapons of mass destruction programmes.

France also reacted coolly to the document yesterday, saying that it had not seen proof to back up the claims in the 50-page report.

Germany, which has been criticised by the United States for its rejection of any military operation in Iraq, said the document provided no grounds for war. "What we read there does not differ from what the German government already knew," Uwe-Karsten Heye, a government spokesman, said. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder held talks in London with Tony Blair after the publication of the dossier on Tuesday.

The Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, said the priority should be the return of the UN weapons inspectors to Iraq. "I believe that only specialists and experts can judge whether or not Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. We have therefore sought the fastest possible return to Iraq of inspectors," he said. "It seems to us that it is not worth creating a great propaganda furore around this report. We should wait for the conclusions of the experts. Only after that can any conclusions be drawn."

The UN Security Council hopes to authorise the return of the inspectors to Iraq after talks next week between the Iraqis and the chief UN weapons inspector, Hans Blix. But a draft resolution on the inspections has not yet been submitted to the 15-member council, amid stark differences among the big powers over whether the text should contain a direct threat of force if Saddam Hussein refuses to provide unfettered access to the UN arms experts.

In a blow to Britain, the Russian minister, whose country holds the power of veto in the UN Security Council, dismissed suggestions that Moscow had drawn closer to the American and British positions in agreeing on a tougher stand. "It is premature to say whether there is any rapprochement or not on a resolution that does not exist," Mr Ivanov said.

In Paris, a French foreign ministry spokesman said: "We have accepted the British evaluations and are comparing them with our own." Mr Chirac said on Tuesday that he saw no need for a proposed Security Council resolution threatening war at this stage.

The Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, called for a tough UN resolution and likened President Saddam's regime to Nazism. Referring to comments by Germany's former justice minister, Herta Däubler-Gmelin, who resigned this week after likening George Bush to Hitler, Mr Berlusconi said: "Any comparisons made with Adolf Hitler befit dictatorships and international outlaws, but certainly not the great American democracy and its President."

Iraq reiterated its response to the dossier yesterday, saying: "Blair's dossier is full of lies and the inspection team will be able in a short time to verify that such claims are baseless." The government said that it intended to rebut in detail the allegations made in British document.