The Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has said that Moscow would not support any measure leading to a war on Iraq and might be prepared to use its veto in the UN Security Council.
In a BBC interview, Mr Ivanov called for concrete time limits to be set by UN weapons inspectors to complete their work.
He also said it would be a 'serious mistake with serious consequences' if the United States went to war against Iraq without a second UN resolution, but declined to say what action, if any, Russia would take in response.
Earlier, the UN said Iraq destroyed three more of its banned al-Samoud missiles, as well as a launcher and five missile engines.
Sixteen of the weapons, whose range exceeds the limit allowed by the UN, have been scrapped so far.
Aid package threatened
American officials have said Turkey will lose almost all of a multi-billion-dollar aid package from Washington if its parliament continues to refuse to accept the deployment of US troops in the country.
No new vote is expected to be put to the parliament for two or three weeks, by which time American officials say the approval would come too late.
A State Department spokesman said the US was not trying to punish Turkey for the democratic vote of its parliament, and would continue to help rebuild the country's economy.
But, he said, the aid was intended to help Turkey meet the cost of involvement in war preparations, and it would not be needed if there was no involvement.
Alternative plans
The US is considering alternative war plans following Turkey's failure to allow American troops enter Northern Iraq from Turkish soil.
Meanwhile, the administration has confirmed that it has increased the range of targets that can be attacked by American and British planes patrolling the no-fly zones in the north and south of the country.
Later today the commander of the US forces in the gulf, General Tommy Franks, will meet Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to try and work out a 'Plan B' for an Iraqi invasion.
Turkey's refusal to allow US troops invade from there has left the military planners with a major headache.
America now has no northern point from which to attack.
Turkey says a second vote on the matter has been postponed indefinitely.
Some US officials say this could set plans back by two weeks, possibly pushing any military action back to late March or April.
In the meantime, the US says it has expanded the number and range of targets being bombed by American and British planes flying over northern and southern Iraq.
War in violation of law – lawyers
According to two UK lawyers, war on Iraq, even with the proposed new UN resolution, would be a clear violation of international law.
Lawyers from Matrix Chambers claim that even if the resolution overcomes French, German and Russian opposition, it would not sanction war.
Rabinder Singh QC and Charlotte Kilroy, members of the British Prime Minister's wife's legal chambers, say its wording would not authorise the use of force against Iraq.
'The US and UK would be in violation of international law if they were to attack Iraq,' they said.
