10 March 2003
Fleischer Calls Russia U.N. Veto "A Possibility"
(White House Report) (890) RUSSIAN VETO "INDEED A POSSIBILITY" Asked about news reports that Russian officials are threatening a veto in the U.N. Security Council on the amended resolution on Iraq before the council, Fleischer noted that Russia's foreign minister "has indicated that that is a possibility." President Bush "certainly hopes that it will not come to that from the Russian point of view. The president would be very disappointed if Russia were to take a stand that would be a setback not only for peace, because it's important to immediately disarm Saddam Hussein, but also for the freedom and the liberty of the Iraqi people," Fleischer said. "It's worth remembering what happened to the people of Kosovo and it's worth remembering what happened to the people of Rwanda. The United Nations has previously sat on the sidelines as people died and as injustice was done as a result of vetoes or veto threats from other nations. If they (Russia) were to veto, which is indeed a possibility, it would be, from a moral point of view, more than a disappointment," Fleischer said. "The president would look at this as a missed opportunity for Russia to take an important moral stand to defend freedom and prevent the risk of a massive catastrophe from taking place as a result of Saddam Hussein's development of weapons of mass destruction." U.S. CONCERNED BY REPORTS OF IRAQI UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES The White House is aware of the reports of the discovery of Iraqi unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by UNMOVIC, the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, Fleischer said. The U.S. is also aware of UNMOVIC's discovery of Iraqi production of munitions capable of dispensing both chemical and biological weapons, he said. "In the case of the UAVs, we understand that it's a drone with a 24-foot wingspan as well as a second undeclared vehicle; they were constructed from converted L-29 drop tanks for Iraqi aircraft. UNSCOM has discovered that Iraq has used modified drop tanks to spray simulated anthrax in past tests." Fleischer said that apart from the fact that the tanks can transport chemical or biological weapons, the reported fuel capacities of the drones might permit them to violate the 150-kilometer range limitation for such craft imposed on Iraq. The United States expects to learn, at a closed-door meeting of the U.N. Security Council March 10, why the discovery of the undeclared weapons delivery systems was not addressed in weapons inspector Hans Blix's March 7 oral report to the council. "This was part of an appendix that was added very, very late by Hans Blix to the document that was submitted in writing, and really was not talked about at the U.N. last Friday," Fleischer said. "This was not part of that original report in full. There is some interest in knowing why this was not part of the oral report. There could be a number of explanations, and we look forward to hearing what they could be." "NO SECRET" FRANCE COURTING VOTES AGAINST IRAQ RESOLUTION According to news reports, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin spent the weekend lobbying Security Council members Angola, Cameroon and Guinea to grant Iraq more time to comply with U.N. disarmament demands. "It's no secret," Fleischer told reporters, that "the French have been working against this resolution for a considerable amount of time. It's also worth remembering that when it came to the resolution that created the inspectors and UNMOVIC in the first place, neither France nor Russia supported the creation of the inspectors to begin with." BUSH MAKES SERIES OF PHONE CALLS ON IRAQ, NORTH KOREA President Bush made a series of phone calls to a number of foreign leaders March 10 to discuss the situation in North Korea and the upcoming vote in the United Nations Security Council on Iraq, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters at his early morning and early afternoon briefings. Fleischer said early in the day Bush phoned China's President Jiang Zemin, Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, South African President Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki, and the Sultan of Oman, Said bin Said Al Qaboos, and was expected to phone other leaders before the day was over. Secretary of State Colin Powell also was making phone calls to his foreign minister counterparts, Fleischer said. PROLIFERATION GROWING PROBLEM FOR WORLD "We have long been concerned about both North Korea and Iran's development of nuclear weapons. We've been warning about both," Fleischer said. "This is one of the reasons the president, in the State of the Union (address), referred to Iraq, Iran and North Korea as 'the axis of evil.' It's because of their willing desire to flaunt international accords in pursuit of nuclear weapons. Their pursuit of them began quite some time ago. It is a worldwide problem. It is also why it is so important for the United Nations to be effective against Iraq. If the United Nations is not able to enforce non-proliferation agreements around the world, proliferators will celebrate," Fleischer said. "Proliferation is a growing problem for the world to face, as North Korea and Iran are proving," he said. (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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