11 February 1998
U.N. DIPLOMATS STRUGGLE TO END IRAQ CRISIS
(Envoys seek way to get Iraqi compliance with resolutions) (430) By Judy Aita USIA United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- Diplomatic efforts to end the Iraq crisis continued at the United Nations February 11 with no indication that either top U.N. officials or Security Council members were close to finding a way to change Baghdad's position on weapons inspections peacefully. Secretary General Kofi Annan spent a second day in intensive talks with ambassadors on ways to end Iraq's standoff with the Security Council. An anticipated announcement of a mission to Baghdad by Annan never materialized. Annan met with the five permanent members of the Security Council -- Ambassador Huasun Qin of China, Ambassador Alain Dejammet of France, Ambassador Sergey Lavrov of Russia, Ambassador Sir John Weston of the United Kingdom and Ambassador Bill Richardson of the United States -- late in the day; however all of the participants refused to give any details on the meeting. In a statement read by U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard, the secretary general said the group "discussed the principal problems that have arisen and the possible next steps that could be taken. A number of aspects were considered and participants undertook to consult their capitals with a view to resuming discussions later this week." "The participants in the meeting agreed that all efforts must continue to achieve a diplomatic solution aimed at full implementation by the Government of Iraq of the resolutions of the council," Eckhard said. Annan had stepped up his own efforts to resolve the crisis in the past several days, canceling all other appointments to concentrate on Iraq, saying he did not believe that the hour for diplomacy had passed. Talking with journalists earlier in the day February 11, Richardson reiterated the U.S. position. "We don't think there should be any deals or compromises. We feel very strongly that there should be clear, unfettered access to all sites by U.N. inspectors and that the full integrity of UNSCOM (U.N. Special Commission overseeing the destruction of Iraqi weapons) should be maintained," Richardson said. Referring to efforts by other diplomats meeting with Iraqi officials in Baghdad, Richardson said "we think the Russian and the French proposals are very serious and well-intentioned but we have reservations about any proposal that does not comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions." "Iraq will resolve this problem by fully complying with Security Council resolutions," he added. (For more information on the Iraq crisis, contact our Iraq website at: http://www.usia.gov/iraq)
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