Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

6 August – Secretary-General Kofi Annan today replied to a letter he received from the Foreign Minister of Iraq concerning weapons inspections, which have not been conducted in the country since 1998, according to a United Nations spokesman.

"The Secretary-General's response to the Foreign Minister of Iraq has been shared with members of the Security Council," spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters in New York.

Foreign Minister Naji Sabri had sent the letter on Thursday inviting Hans Blix, the Executive Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), to Iraq for technical discussions.

Mr. Annan,speaking to reporters as he entered UN Headquarters today, said his letter would "clarify that we welcome [Iraq's] invitation, but that we would want to proceed along other lines."

Asked about the position of Council members, the Secretary-General said that they wanted to see Iraq comply with the relevant UN resolutions. "They would want to see the inspectors go in and continue their work, and would want me to continue to work with [Baghdad] to get the inspectors back into Iraq," he said.

During a separate press encounter, the President of the Security Council confirmed this view. "I think everyone is on the same page as far as what is required of Iraq in regard to next steps and the full implementation of existing Security Council resolutions," said Ambassador John Negroponte of the United States.