Vladimir P. Lukin said Moscow was taking a principled stand. "There is a principle here, a basic principle," he said in an interview, echoing arguments repeatedly put forth by President Jacques Chirac of France, "that if someone tries to wage war on their own account, without other states, without an international mandate, it means all the world is confusion and a wild jungle."
Mr. Lukin, a former Russian ambassador to the United States, said he had urged his government to seek a compromise and to help the United States to save face. But he added: "Do you know the difference between a policeman and a gangster? A policeman complies with rules which are elaborated not by the policeman, but a certain democratic community accepted by everyone. A gangster implements his own rules." NY Times