FACTBOX: Biden discusses Iraq, Russia in interview

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joseph Biden, a Democratic presidential hopeful, discussed a broad range of international issues in an interview with Reuters, including Russia, Iraq and India.

Biden's main points:

-- "The most worrisome development of the last five or six years is the about-face in democracy in Russia ... Because of the need to keep Russia silent on the blunders of Iraq and our actions, they (the Bush administration) essentially turned the other way on what was essentially, the authoritarian bent of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin."

-- Biden said President George W. Bush's policy in Iraq is a failure that cannot be sustained. Biden said Congress should debate and vote on the issue as many times as necessary until Republicans abandon Bush and he changes course.

-- Because of Iraq, "the world has very little confidence in our judgment," Biden said.

-- Asked about plans -- opposed by Russia -- to build a missile shield in Europe, Biden said the missile shield was premature. "I have an open mind to it but I am not persuaded of its necessity or its efficacy at this point."

-- On the possibility that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice could have rare senior level talks this week with Iran's foreign minister at an international conference, Biden said: "I hope she listens as well as talks."

-- He predicted the conference at Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh resort would fall short because it will not produce agreement on a new political solution for Iraq. Biden says U.S. backing for a strong centralized government in Iraq cannot succeed.

-- Core tenets of Bush's foreign policy -- pre-emption and regime change -- have been disastrous. With pre-emption, the administration "turned an option into a doctrine that scared the hell out of even our friends," Biden said, while regime change policies encouraged problem states "to gather weapons of mass destruction."