06 August 2002
U.N. Rejects Iraqi Proposal on Weapons Talks
(Negroponte says Security Council united on approach) (850) By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- Secretary General Kofi Annan told Iraq August 6 that the United Nations is willing to continue talks on the return of weapons inspectors, but on the terms set out by the U.N. Security Council, not those of Baghdad. In a letter to Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri the secretary general said that the first step in Iraq's resolving its issues with the United Nations must be the return of the weapons inspectors. "Paragraph 7 of resolution 1284 (1999) directs UNMOVIC [the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspections Commission] to draw up, not later than 60 days after is has started work in Iraq, for approval by the Security Council, a work program, which will include, inter alia, 'the key remaining disarmament tasks to be completed by Iraq.' This resolution also stipulates that 'what is required of Iraq for the implementation of each task shall be clearly defined and precise,'" Annan said in a letter with the phrases in quotes underlined for emphasis. "The Security Council has thus clearly instructed UNMOVIC to start its work in Iraq by identifying and then submitting to the council for its approval a list of the "key remaining disarmament tasks," he said. "As you will recall, [UNMOVIC Executive Chairman Hans] Blix clearly expressed his readiness to transmit for your government's comment these key remaining disarmament tasks before submitting his report to the Security Council." "It should therefore be possible at that time for Iraq to express its views and to provide any additional information which may be relevant," the secretary general said. Copies of the letter were given to the Security Council before it was sent, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said. Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri had invited Blix and members of his staff to Iraq for talks on remaining disarmament issues. Sabri said that the talks could lead to a "solid basis" for the return of weapons inspectors. The secretary general, while welcoming the letter, had told journalists that the procedure proposed by the Iraqis is at odds with the plan set out by the Security Council in 1999. He met with the council on August 5 to discuss the Iraqi invitation. "By and large, the council members would want to see the Iraqis comply," the secretary general told journalists as he arrived for work August 6. "They would want to see the inspectors go in and continue their work and would want me to continue to work with them to get the inspectors back into Iraq." U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte, president of the Security Council for August, said that the council's 15 members were "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." "We all indicated yesterday to the secretary general that it was for him to reply to the Iraqi letter and that he was fully aware of the sentiments and the views of the various council members," Negroponte said. Iraq's invitation, the ambassador pointed out, "seeks to talk about a lot of political or extraneous issues before getting to the issue of the practical arrangements that are needed in order to reinstate inspections." Reinstating weapons inspections is the first priority according to the work plan set out by the council in resolution 1284, passed in 1999. The resolution calls for UNMOVIC inspectors to spend 60 days conducting active inspections to determine what has changed since U.N. weapons inspectors were expelled in 1998 and what needs to be done for Iraq to be rid of all chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and their programs; discuss a work program with Iraq; and then report to the Security Council. In his reply, Annan told the foreign minister that he welcomed Iraq's "expressed desire to continue our dialogue aimed at reaching a comprehensive solution to the outstanding issues between Iraq and the United Nations." He also indicated that he had discussed the letter with the Security Council, which oversees the work of UNMOVIC. "I look forward to receiving from your government a confirmation that it accepts the sequence of steps outline above, along with a formal invitation to UNMOVIC," the secretary general said. (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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