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05 November 1997

U.N. ENVOYS DELIVER MESSAGE ON SECURITY COUNCIL UNITY TO IRAQ

(Third meeting set for November 6) (770)
By Judy Aita
USIA United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- Special envoys of Secretary General Kofi Annan met
in two lengthy sessions with Iraqi officials November 5 in an attempt
to impress on Baghdad that the Security Council is united in its
determination to see its resolutions honored, U.N. officials and
diplomats said.
While the envoys are in Iraq, Ambassador Richard Butler, chairman of
the Special Commission overseeing the destruction of Iraqi weapons
(UNSCOM) acceded to a request from the secretary general and postponed
UNSCOM's U-2 reconnaissance flight scheduled between November 5 and 7.
Iraq had threatened to shoot down the flight.
Butler agreed to postpone the flights "while the secretary general's
personal envoys are in Iraq delivering the message that the United
Nations Security Council resolutions must be fully and unconditionally
reinstated," a U.N. spokesman said.
U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said that the three envoys met with Deputy
Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, and other top Iraqi officials, including
the foreign minister, U.N. ambassador, and oil minister. Also included
in the U.N. delegation were the directors of the U.N. humanitarian
office and the secretary general's office in Baghdad.
The team is headed by former Algerian Foreign Minister Lakhdar
Brahimi, currently U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan, and includes
Ambassador Emilio Cardenas of Argentina and Ambassador Jan Eliasson of
Sweden, a former U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs.
The team is attempting to convince Baghdad to rescind it's decision to
expel American weapons inspectors employed by UNSCOM and not allow any
more U.S. nationals to enter. There are currently seven Americans with
UNSCOM in Iraq.
The first meeting lasted two hours and "the atmosphere was described
as good," Eckhard said. The second meeting lasted almost five hours
and ended at 11 P.M. Iraq time. A third meeting is set for the morning
of November 6.
U.N. officials had no details on the substance of the meetings.
However, press reports from Baghdad quoted Brahimi as saying after the
sessions that "those who are optimistic will find optimism."
At the first meeting, the team delivered a letter from the secretary
general to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the spokesman said.
However, Eckhard added that "we've made it very clear that's there's
nothing to negotiate."
Asked why such a mission would require so many hours of meetings, the
U.N. spokesman replied that "the idea of this mission -- in addition
to permitting us to deliver the sense of the Security Council that
Iraq must comply -- was also to allow them to express their
grievances. So I assume that was taking place as well."
Although there have been reports from Baghdad that Tariq Aziz has
indicated that he wants to meet with the Security Council in New York
when the envoys make their report November 10, the council has
received no formal request from the Iraqi Government.
"We'll have to see what the council's reaction would be," Eckhard
said, "but rather routinely if a foreign minister or higher official
of a member state asks to address the council it is routinely
accepted."
In Washington, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Bill Richardson told the
House of Representatives International Relations Committee that the
three envoys would impress upon Iraq that they must "fully and
unconditionally" allow the UNSCOM teams to operate in Iraq.
"They (the Iraqis) have no right to pick or choose who will be on the
teams ... there is no room for any negotiations," Richardson said.
Richardson said that the United States would continue to work through
U.N. diplomatic channels, but "we are not -- and I repeat, we are not
-- withholding action of any kind."
Meanwhile, for the third consecutive day, UNSCOM teams were unable to
carry out previously scheduled inspections because Americans were
present.
"Three teams again took off for three different inspection sites,"
Eckhard said. "On arrival at 9 a.m. they were challenged by Iraqi
officials who protested the presence of American inspectors on the
teams. At which time, following instructions of the chairman, the
chief inspectors told their Iraqi counterparts their inspections would
not proceed and they returned (to UNSCOM headquarters) without
incident."
Annan has urged all involved to "restrain themselves" and not
undertake any provocative actions while the talks are under way. U.N.
officials stressed that continuing the UNSCOM inspections was not
provocative.
"The executive chairman's decision to send out teams was not to
exacerbate tensions but to continue to make a point of principle,"
Eckhard said.