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03 October 2002

U.N. Security Council Briefed by Arms Inspectors on Iraqi Talks

(Chief weapons inspector says Vienna talks left "loose ends") (760)
By Judy Aita
Washington File Staff Writer
United Nations -- The U.N. Security Council was briefed privately for
more than two hours October 3 by lead U.N. arms inspectors, who said
they were ready to delay any departure of inspectors for Iraq while
the Security Council discussed a resolution that would better define
their power and authority.
U.N. arms inspector Hans Blix, executive chairman of the U.N.
Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), and
Mohamed Elbaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA), which handles inspections for nuclear weapons, had met
October 1 in Vienna with Iraqi officials to discuss resumption of
inspections. The two announced then that they were told by Iraq that
the U.N. would have "immediate, unconditional, and unrestricted
access" to all sites in Iraq except eight so-called presidential
sites. The presidential sites, eight compounds used by Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein, were covered under a memorandum of understanding and
were not part of the Vienna talks.
After the Security Council meeting, diplomats said that there was
general agreement that "loose ends" remained after the Vienna talks
and there was a "need for clarity" before the weapons experts return
to Baghdad.
U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham said that the United States is
"seeking a further resolution with additional guidance and authority
for them that will strengthen their efforts and enable them to
effectively pursue the goal of disarmament."
"Our desire and our position is that new inspections should result on
the basis of new and better guidance and that inspectors should not
return until that new guidance is provided," the U.S. ambassador said.
"There is an understanding in the council that there is an important
debate under way and that it would be desirable to have clarity about
the outcome of that debate prior to the return of the inspectors
rather than having inspectors go back under the existing situation,"
Cunningham said.
"This stronger authority will be of assistance to both UNMOVIC and
IAEA and I am sure that they will welcome that," the ambassador said.
"There are loose ends that need to be wrapped up," he said. "Some of
those loose ends are not trivial."
The ambassador said one important point would be to get immediate and
unfettered access to the so-called presidential sites.
Cunningham, the deputy permanent U.S. representative to the U.N.,
commended Blix and Elbaradei on their work in Vienna but pointed out
that "their efforts were based on the existing terms of reference
under which UNMOVIC and IAEA are operating and those terms of
reference are not good enough to get the job done that we need to have
done."
In a new resolution, Cunningham said, the U.S. will "seek steps to
better define what immediate and unfettered access means."
"Clarity is the best basis on which to proceed," he said.
Blix will meet U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington on
October 4 to discuss the situation.
British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock also called the Vienna talks
"useful and positive" but stressed that "not all relevant and
necessary things have been made clear. It is going to need another
resolution that makes it unequivocally clear what the duties of Iraq
are in meeting the requirements of complete disarmament."
"There was, as I saw it, unanimous agreement around the council table
that the objective of this next period for the Security Council is the
complete disarmament of Iraq in the area of weapons of mass
destruction and that the return of the inspectors ... is an instrument
toward that end. And it is the responsibility of the Security Council
to see that all their resolutions are implemented," Greenstock said.
Talking with journalists after the meeting, Blix said that the
council's resolutions dating back to 1991 give the weapons inspectors
the authority to return to Iraq but "it would be awkward if we were
doing inspections and then a new mandate and change of directions were
to arise."
"We hope it won't be a long delay and we are ready to go at the
practical earliest opportunity," Blix said.
Blix said that some of the "loose ends" from the Vienna talks related
to aerial operations in the no-fly zone where Iraq said that they
could not assure the inspectors' safety, the presidential sites, and
interviews that might be conducted with Iraqi officials or scientists
during inspections.
Elbaradei added that it was a "question of practicality" to align the
inspectors' return with the council's deliberations.
"We both would like to do effective inspections. That means immediate,
unfettered inspection to all sites in Iraq," the IAEA director said.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)