Vladimir Putin
In Paris for talks
The US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, has said that a crisis in NATO will not delay possible military action in Iraq.
Mr Rumsfeld was speaking after France, Belgium and Germany blocked a US-led proposal for the defence of Turkey by NATO in the event of war on Iraq.
The US Defence Secretary said military preparations would go ahead bilaterally if NATO could not agree on a plan of action.
Earlier an emergency meeting of NATO ambassadors in Brussels failed to break the deadlock on the issue. Discussions will resume tomorrow.
Following their veto at NATO, the three European countries issued a joint statement saying they were determined to meet all obligations to their allies, especially Turkey, according to the spirit of NATO.
Iraq to accept US surveillance flights
Meanwhile, Iraq has told the UN arms inspectors that it will unconditionally accept flights over its territory by US U-2 surveillance planes.
Iraq's ambassador to the UN, Mohamed Al Douri said that Iraq is trying to avoid war by all means. But the White House has said that this does not affect the bottom line - that Iraq should disarm.
