22 May 2003
Negroponte: Ending Sanctions Facilitates Restoration of Iraqi Sovereignty
(Says Iraqi oil revenues will benefit Iraqi people) (1140) The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte, said the U.N. Security Council resolution ending sanctions on Iraq helps facilitate the restoration of sovereignty to the Iraqi people as soon as possible. Speaking to the media at the U.N. headquarters in New York May 22, Negroponte said the United States does not intend to stay in Iraq longer than necessary, but he refused to speculate on how long the U.S. forces will remain in Iraq. The ambassador said the revenues from Iraqi oil and other resources will be spent for the benefit of the Iraqi people. Although Syria was not present for the Security Council vote, Negroponte said Syria may still associate itself with the resolution by writing a letter to that effect to the Security Council president. Following is the transcript of Negroponte's remarks: (begin transcript) Remarks by Ambassador John D. Negroponte, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Following the Passage of Resolution 1483, Security Council Stakeout, May 22, 2003 Ambassador Negroponte: I'll take your questions. Reporter: Sir, the Syrian absence, I spoke to the Deputy Ambassador, Dr. Fayssal Mekdad and he explained that he asked you -- they asked the Security Council -- for extra, short time to consider their presence and waiting for instructions from Syria and they were denied the extra time. Can you explain that? Ambassador Negroponte: Well, the vote was scheduled for 9:30 am this morning, and as you know, the text had been in blue, that is ready for vote, for a number of days. So it's not that the text had not been known to them. There was some additional time made available. We waited until 10:00 am, and then we were notified, the President of the Council was notified, that the Syrian cabinet, the government, was still meeting on the subject, so the decision was taken to go forward with the vote. And as you saw, it received overwhelming support -- unanimous support -- from those present. My understanding is that it would be possible, if Syria wished to do so, to, for Syria to associate itself with the Council's decision by writing a letter to that effect to the Council President. I don't know if they will consider that possibility or not. Reporter: (inaudible) about the UN weapons inspectors back once Hans Blix is out of the way or do you still differ with the British on this? Ambassador Negroponte: The resolution says that one of the issues that will be taken up in the future is the mandate of UNMOVIC and the IAEA, but we've reached no decision in that regard at this point. But as you know from the resolution, there is provision for discussing that in the future. Reporter: This is a follow-up to the question on Syria, are there likely to be any repercussions on US - Syrian relations because of what happened? Ambassador Negroponte: Well, I think it would be utterly premature to try to give you an analysis of the implications of a development that just happened within the last hour. Reporter: Mr. Ambassador, what (inaudible) can we expect the Iraqi people to rule themselves without the interfering of the foreign powers? Ambassador Negroponte: Well, our hope - and we believe this resolution helps chart the way forward - is to facilitate the restoration of sovereignty to the people of Iraq as soon as possible. And as we have said on repeated occasions - President Bush himself -we don't want to stay in Iraq any longer than is necessary. But at the same time, we think it is important to do - Reporter: (inaudible) Ambassador Negroponte: There is no specific timeline, other than the desire to do this as quickly as is realistically possible. Reporter: Mr. Ambassador, establishing Iraqi sovereign power will take maybe one or two years. Do you think this resolution gives the occupying powers the authority to change something like the ownership of the oil industry in Iraq by paragraph five? Ambassador Negroponte: First of all, I wouldn't want to put a timeline on the question of political transition in Iraq, although again, it is something that we would like to see accomplished as quickly as possible. As far as the disposition of the natural resources and the wealth of the people of Iraq, this resolution provides that these must be used for the benefit of the people of Iraq, and I can assure you that is the intention of the Coalition partners in this regard. Reporter: Mr. Ambassador, can you give us an indication in terms of what the monies will be spent on - there is a reference to continued disarmament, there's a vague reference to elements - to anything benefiting the Iraqi people, will you spell out in detail, sort of in terms of the budget, how much you're going to spend on the US disarmament, whether any of this money will be used to underwrite portions of the military campaign, essentially, you know, will provide some detailed breakdown? Ambassador Negroponte: Well, certainly, I think as events unfold I think we will do that. Again, I would reiterate that the intent is to use Iraq's resources and to dispose and dispense Iraq's resources to the benefit of the people of Iraq. And the resolution does establish transparency mechanisms in that regard. The International Advisory and Monitoring Board - with a representative from the Secretary General's office and from the IMF and the World Bank, so I think there will be the utmost transparency in all of this, I just can't lay it out for you at this very moment. Although clearly, the bulk of expenditures are going to deal with the restoration of the economy and the reconstruction of Iraq. Reporter: (inaudible) changed US - French relations going forward that have been very chilly for the last three months? Ambassador Negroponte: Well, I wouldn't want to comment on the bilateral relationship other than to say, though, that clearly and obviously, we welcome the fact that France, along with the other members of the Council, joined the consensus today, and we're pleased at that outcome. Reporter: Is it not seemly for Syria, for the second time, not to be present in a vote? Does it mean that it's a responsible member of the Security Council? Ambassador Negroponte: Well, I think you'd have to direct that question to Syria. The Council preceded, it carried out its business, it adopted the resolution by a vote of 14 to 0. We think it's a good resolution, we think it moves things in the right direction and we're very, very pleased with the outcome today. Thank you. One last question. Reporter: (question in Spanish) Ambassador Negroponte: (answer in Spanish) Reporter: (question in Spanish) Ambassador Negroponte: (answer in Spanish) (end transcript) (Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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