TASS - Russia�s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya has warned against attempts to draw Iraq into confrontation with Iran.


"We are worried over possible negative impact on the political situation in Iraq as a result of attempts to fan tensions around Iran," Nebenzya said at a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Iraq.

"Attempts to draw that country into a regional confrontation destabilize the situation inside Iraq," he stressed. "Iraq has the right to build and develop normal relations with its neighbors. No one has the right to undermine these relations."

The United States� Permanent Representative to the UN Kelly Craft also touched upon the Iranian topic and called on Iraq�s neighboring nations to refrain from interfering into its affairs. She stressed the inadmissibility of using lethal weapons against protesters in Iraq.

Protests have been held across Iraq since early October when people took to the streets driven by deteriorating living conditions, high unemployment among the youth and corruption. The protesters demand government resignation and early parliamentary elections. Protests are accompanied by violence and riots across the country. According to the United Nations data, more than 400 people have been killed since early October and some 19,000 have been injured.