European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 3, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday March 3, 1991the stars and stripes. Page 3 in the Gulf soviets Hope to Cash in on role in crisis b Gerald Nadler United press International Moscow a the soviet Union Winch sanctioned the use of Force against Iraq and then tried to Ward off the  ground assault is now trying to pick up the pieces of its Middle East diplomacy and Cash in some  Veteran Western diplomatic observer said the soviets Are seeking contracts to analysis help rebuild Iraq and want to cooperate with saudi Arabia and Kuwait financially and be a player in the Middle East peace process. \ a you must remember they signed the Check gave the carte Blanche for the War a said the observer referring to Moscow s voting Tor the , Security Council Resolution in november that sanctioned the use of Force to drive Saddam Hussein from Kuwait. A without them it would not have been a . War but an american War a he said. A a a a a the observer who has served throughout the Middle East and is now based in Moscow described the soviet game As masterful despite . Annoyance Over Mikhail Gorbachev a  last minute diplomacy to spare Saddam from the ground War that forced him out of Kuwait which Iraq invaded aug. 2. A from the 3rd of August they have played on two Levels a said the observer. A they supported the . Resolutions without which the . Could not have waged the War under the Flag of the . This was to show the United states a we Are Good Guys who can be relied  a at the same time they were trying to help Iraq get out of it. The soviet ambassador in Baghdad worked Day and night. This was to show they were trying to minimize the damage and that the soviets do not forget old  the soviets he said have come out of the War with links to Iran Syria saudi Arabia Kuwait and Egypt ties  soon to be capped by full relations and close Friendship with the Palestine liberation organization. A they Are friends with everybody a the observer marvelled. A saudi Arabia gave them $3 billion in Aid Kuwait $1 billion the United states has so far adopted a Low profile on the Baltic and they Are not exactly embracing lithuanian president vytautas Landsbergis. A the postwar Middle East diplomatic action will be on the Baghdad Tehran Damascus Axis and the soviets Are beautifully positioned a he said. But there has been fallout. Before the soviet initiative to Salvage Saddam could begin foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze had to go depriving the liberals of a Strong voice in the Kremlin. A a Soldier with the 82nd airborne div carries an american Flag past a mural of Saddam Hussein in Iraq on wednesday. Media Pool Shevardnadze who helped author the key . Resolution to use arms to Force Iraq from Kuwait resigned dec. 20, charging a soviet dictatorship loomed and mocking the a boys in colonel stripes who said he was trying to Send soviet troops to fight alongside the americans. Although the charge of dispatching soviet forces to the persian Gulf was ridiculous in Light of the soviet unions Afghanistan syndrome the observer said. A Shevardnadze at times was More american in his approach than the  a senior Western Diplomat said it was a mistake for the soviets to Label Gorbachev a attempts to get Baghdad to agree to a pullout As a the Gorbachev peace  a. A a a. A. A in the final analysis they were not Able to defend Saddam from himself and it was a mistake to try a the Diplomat said. A  a a even the attempt rankled. Sen. Robert Dole r-kan., said at one Point it was time for Gorbachev a to butt  _ some diplomatic voices muttered in private that a the attempt to save Saddam a hide. Cheapened Gorbachev and in general was a shabby Perloni manic. The most vocal censuring of Gorbachev a diplomatic flurry to shield Saddam has appeared in the new Independent lib Cral soviet press such As the kuranty newspaper of the Moscow City Council. A the failure of the peace initiative of Gorbachev once More demonstrated that. The so called Well thought Over approach easily transfers into Lack of principles a it said. _. A a a.  ii at the initial stage of the conflict soviet efforts have brought some dividends in the relations with the West the events of the following months have brought them to naught in Many aspects causing Lack of Trust in the policy of the soviet Union in the West a kuranty said. Surprisingly soviet citizens were caught up in the euphoria of the a desert storm Advance openly rooted for . Forces and mocked Gorbachev a  a. -7 7, 7. A a Gorbachev a failed initiative also met fallout from the right generals and War Plant managers who feel Gorbachev a new political thinking of accommodation with Washington has ensnared Moscow and unleashed the unrestrained Tiger in the persian Gull. A we Are facing the initial stages of our Fust experience of being Allied with the United slates in the Post cold War world. It proves not to be easy a wrote respected columnist Stanislav Kondrashov in the a Vestia . A again we have been deceived and cheated in something but we also have deceived ourselves a Kondrashov said. A your conscience is now restless As we Are siding with murderers in this Slaughter in the Gulf through our drive to counteract aggression a whatever the qualms the soviet unions initial support of the United states its denouncing of Saddam a invasion and its halting of arms shipments were Light years away from its former spoiler role in the Middle East. By not _ automatically arming Arab states against Israel and not vetoing peace moves at the . Security Council Moscow has won the right to be a player for peace jaw boning its clients instead of arming Thern for repeated wars. A on Beijing up a kuwaiti diplomats said saturday none of the billions of dollars in kuwaiti reconstruction contracts awarded so far has gone to China which walked at supporting the emirate s military liberation. Kuwait has refused even to  the visas that would allow officials of the 10 chinese construction companies in the emirate to return to assess damage to their offices diplomats said. China Long a major labor contractor in the persian Gulf nevertheless is trumpeting its desire Tocash in on what is estimated As a $70 billion reconstruction . The slate run English language China daily in a Story headlined a China makes plans to help rebuild Kuwait a quoted a Enior official As expressing China s eagerness to a seek opportunities in the huge reconstruction  _. -. 7 a the return of China a construction companies to Kuwait is not far off a said the official Chen Rongcai of China a powerful ministry of foreign economic relations and Trade. A we also plan to Supply labourers technicians and engineers to help rebuild Kuwait a Chen told the newspaper. W a kuwaiti diplomats in Beijing said embassy phones were ringing off the Hook with requests for visas and talks on construction contracts but that the chinese callers had been politely rebuffed. A the chinese see All the europeans in there aggressively competing for contracts and  interested in getting Back in top a one senior kuwaiti Diplomat told United press International. A they have been calling us about getting Back info their own offices in Kuwait a the Diplomat said. A a we have denied visa requests so far and we have not contracted anything with anyone on the chinese Side a he added. The Diplomat suggested China must wait in line behind the Many nations that waged the War against Kuwait a iraqi invaders but said China nevertheless is expected to share in Kuwait s rebuilding Likely through labor subcontracts reached with primary contractors. Kuwait has signed contracts with at least 100 foreign firms and Gulf diplomats estimate that 70 percent of the work will go to firms in the United states which spearheaded the massive military operation that crushed iraqis occupation army. Next in line Are Britain France and Egypt whose troops also played major roles in operation desert storm