The stakes have just gone up... dramatically!  Normally when Russian President Boris Yeltsin speaks  these days one has to wonder.  He's a man imbalanced at times for quite some time it seems.  And all too often of late the Russian Foreign Ministry is quick to amend or "explain" what the President sometimes says off the cuff.

    But not this time it seems.  This time the Russian media and Foreign Ministry appear to be behind Yeltsin's warnings and eager to promote and verify their leader's rather startling comments.

    The Gulf situation now threatens to get way out of hand, with the potential to ignite a far wider and far more dangerous confrontation.  Much of the world is getting fed up with American arrogance and militarism, not to mention American economic imperialism and gross hypocrisy.

    This Reuters report from Moscow should be seriously pondered.

 
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Boris Yeltsin said on Wednesday U.S. President Bill Clinton's actions in the Iraq crisis could lead to world war.

"With his actions in Iraq he can lead to a world war," the Kremlin quoted Yeltsin as saying of Clinton.

    The Kremlin press service said Yeltsin made the remarks to Russian reporters during a meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais...

    Interfax news agency first reported Yeltsin's comments and the Kremlin later confirmed them.

    "He is acting too noisily there," Yeltsin was quoted as saying.  "One must be more careful and not threaten with such weapons and fight with planes and bombs."

      Yeltsin's startling remarks were the strongest yet against U.S. threats to use military action to force Iraq to comply with United Nations resolutions and allow U.N. inspectors freely to check for weapons of mass destruction across the country.

    Yeltsin said Clinton was acting uncharacteristically in threatening military action.

      "We want to make it clear to Clinton that we do not agree with such a policy. And the members of the United Nations Security Council will be against it," he said.

      Clinton and Yeltsin spoke by telephone on Monday, but few details of their talks have been released.

      Russia has undertaken a much-publicized mission to mediate in the Iraq crisis, and has urged the world community to find a diplomatic solution.  Moscow helped broker a deal during a similar previous stand-off between Baghdad and the United Nations.

      Yeltsin, who has kept a low profile so far this year, has not publicly spoken about Iraq in recent days, leaving his spokesman and the Foreign Ministry to explain Russia's position.

      It was not clear to what extent his remarks were aimed at a domestic audience or were intended to bolster his envoy, Viktor Posuvalyuk, now in Baghdad seeking to win concessions from the Iraqis to calm the crisis.

      Russia's lower house of parliament has strongly criticized U.S. threats toward Iraq and was scheduled to vote later on Wednesday on a measure urging Yeltsin to end sanctions against Iraq unilaterally if the United States strikes militarily.

      Russia views Iraq, a close partner in Soviet times, as a future potential ally ready to engage in trade once U.N. sanctions are lifted.

      Baghdad owes Moscow an estimated $7 billion or more and several Russian companies have already penned oil deals to begin once sanctions end.