17 February 1998
UN SEC-GEN ANNAN CONTINUES PREPARATIONS FOR BAGHDAD MISSION
(Richardson: Permanent five must all agree on goals) (670) By Judy Aita USIA United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- As Secretary General Kofi Annan and representatives of the five permanent Security Council members continued to discuss the conditions for a diplomatic mission to Baghdad, the possibility that Annan would undertake such a trip appeared more likely. For more than a week the Secretary General has been preparing for the possibility of a diplomatic mission. He reminded journalists February 16 that he'd "made it clear right from the beginning" that he was prepared to intervene, but he would do so only if he can "make a difference. "I have also made it clear that for the trip to be successful, it has to be carefully prepared here and in Baghdad," he said. Annan met with the envoys of China, France, Great Britain, Russia and the United States on February 16 and 17 in an effort to get what the diplomats are calling "a kind of full collective advice" that would give the Secretary General basic ground rules for talks with the Iraqi leadership. U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard announced that Annan will meet with all 15 members of the Security Council on the morning of February 18 to discuss his decision on whether to go to Baghdad. Annan "continues to insist that there be a workable solution, support of the Council for it, and an indication that Iraq is prepared to discuss" a solution in order for him to undertake the trip, Eckhard said. The Secretary General also talked by phone with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, King Hussein of Jordan, Arab League Secretary General Ismat Meguid, and the Foreign Ministers of South Africa and Italy. Diplomats have refused to give any details of Annan's brief. However, the five permanent members remain united in the stand that there must be full compliance with the Council's resolutions and Annan's mission would be to help Iraq meet that requirement, they said. "Everyone concerned is after the same thing: full compliance with Council resolutions, full access for the inspectors, and everybody agrees that we will prefer to do it through diplomatic means," Annan said. After one discussion with the Secretary General February 16, U.S. Ambassador Bill Richardson said that "the United States is not for any deals or compromises." The United States has two conditions under which it would support Annan's mission, Richardson said. "Our view is there should be a common (Permanent five) agreement before the Secretary General takes a trip, " the ambassador said. "Secondly its our view that any solution to this problem center around the two core principals: First, clear, unfettered access to all sites by UNSCOM (U.N. special Commission overseeing the destruction of Iraqi weapons) inspectors and, secondly, the full integrity and professionalism of UNSCOM needs to be maintained." "On that basis any diplomatic initiative can succeed," Richardson said. British Ambassador Sir John Weston concurred with Richardson that the Secretary General would make no compromises. "There are no compromises between what is right and what is wrong. What is right here has been written down by the Security Council of the United Nations, has the force of international law, and the duty of all member states, including Iraq, is to comply with that," the British ambassador said. "There has to be the right solution, not just any old agreement," Sir John said about the results the Council is seeking. Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov said that there is "no disagreement" among the five permanent members about how best to support a mission by the Secretary General. "As far as the principles are concerned about access, about implementing resolutions in full nobody can speak about any room for maneuver, but you can do things differently," Lavrov said. "At this critical moment between war and peace it is the right time for the Secretary General to go to Iraq," Chinese Ambassador Huasun Qin said.
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