Russians Say 'Nyet' On Tough Words

President Bush Friday tried to use personal diplomacy Friday to persuade Russia to drop its objections to a "new, different and strong" U.N. resolution on disarming Iraq.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin told President Bush Friday morning that the priority in the Iraq crisis was to secure the fastest possible return to Baghdad of U.N. arms inspectors, Interfax news agency said.

"Putin stressed that in the current situation it was vital to concentrate on the fastest possible deployment of U.N. inspection and monitoring missions," Interfax reported.

He didn't make much more headway during an Oval Office visit by the Russian foreign and defense ministers, reports CBS News Correspondent Mark Knoller.

Russia is sticking to its view that a tough, new U.N. resolution on Iraq is not needed.

"Russia and the United States firmly believe the international U.N. inspectors must return to Iraq," declared foreign minister Igor Ivanov.

However, the U.S. does not think that's enough and wants Russia's backing for a U.N. resolution with teeth.

Russia, along with France, is a veto-wielding permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. Both countries have voiced strong reservations to a new resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq.

But the White House said that Friday's talks left Mr. Bush encouraged about his prospects with Russia, while acknowledging the need for "ongoing diplomacy."

In their 30-minute exchange, President Bush told Putin the United Nations must "pass resolutions that are firm, that accomplish the goals of disarmament, and don't let Iraq avoid responsibility," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters.

"The president is confident of the ultimate outcome of the action that will be taken in the United Nations," he said.

Iraq's offer this week to readmit U.N. arms inspectors after a four-year hiatus, made under international pressure, has divided the Security Council and slowed Mr. Bush's drive for a new mandate for unfettered inspections backed by force.

A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said weapons inspectors may well be a part of what is needed to disarm Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

"But the United States is withholding at this point, pending discussions and pending consultations, on what means you use to disarm him. ... The key here is to get an effective resolution that deals with the threat, not just to get one that might deal with weapons inspections," the official said.

Plans for the U.N. weapons inspections are moving ahead, reports CBS News Correspondent Lou Miliano. The pressure is on chief weapons inspector Hans Blix to hit the ground running. He said he should be able to have an initial team on the ground by mid October, already with a short list of sites to check out.

"We will have some selected ones," he told reporters. "I won't tell either you or the Iraqis which ones, but we will select some sites that we think are interesting to go to in the early phases. It's not that it takes two months before we can send any guys out in the field. There will be some much earlier than that."

In spite of some reports the Iraqis are demanding some sites like presidential palaces be off-limits, Blix said the subject has not even been discussed.

Emerging from the meeting with Mr. Bush, Ivanov and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov reported no progress in closing the divide between the two countries. However, the foreign minister said both nations want Iraq to comply with U.N. resolutions regarding weapons of mass destruction.

Igor Ivanov did not comment on the U.S. push for a tougher resolution as he talked to reporters in the White House driveway. "We agreed to pursue an exchange of views on how to make the inspectors more effective," he said.

The two men then went to the State Department to continue their talks with Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Russia is looking for U.S. support in its threat to attack Chechen rebels in Georgia. "I believe the U.S. shares some of our concerns," the defense minister said.

The defense minister was quoted by the ITAR-Tass news agency as saying that Russia's position on Iraq would depend on the information the Bush administration provides about Baghdad's possession of weapons of mass destruction.

However, Russia held to its view that an Iraqi offer to readmit weapons inspectors should be accepted. Information on Iraq's weapons programs could be confirmed or disproved only "on the spot," Ivanov said.

President Bush wants Congress to approve a resolution authorizing the use of military force against Iraq in what would be a show of unity to back the president's effort to gain support on Iraq from Russia and other wary nations.

Both Democratic and Republican leaders welcomed a draft proposal that Mr. Bush offered Thursday, in which Congress would authorize the president to "use all means," including military force, to defend U.S. national security interests against the threat posed by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.