UNITED NATIONS, Sept 17: A deep split emerged between the United States and other countries on Tuesday on how to respond to Iraq’s offer to allow UN weapons inspectors to return.
The United States dismissed the Iraqi decision as a stalling tactic but Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said that “thanks to our joint efforts, we managed to avert the threat of a war scenario.”
Russia sought to block discussion of Iraq’s offer by the UN Security Council until after a meeting Thursday in Washington between Ivanov and US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Speaking to Russian media in New York, Ivanov said: “It is essential in the coming days to resolve the issue of the inspectors’ return. For this, no new (Security Council) resolutions are needed,” ITAR-TASS news agency reported.
Russia is one of the five permanent council members, with a power of veto over its decisions.
US officials said a new resolution was needed to “catalogue the sins of (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein” and clearly spell out the consequences he would face if he failed to comply with council demands.
Questioned by reporters before meeting with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Saud al-Faisal, Powell said merely: “We will press for a resolution, yes.”
Existing resolutions, adopted after Iraq invaded Kuwait in Aug 1990, demand that Iraq remove all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and long-range missiles, and that it submit to UN inspections to prove it has done so.
In Resolution 1284, adopted on Dec 17, 1999, the council offered to suspend the crippling sanctions it had imposed on Iraq if Baghdad cooperated fully with the inspectors.
Powell and Ivanov were both tied up in meetings of the so-called Quartet on the Middle East, and diplomats said no Security Council discussion on Iraq was likely before the end of the week.
Egypt and Jordan, key allies of the United States in the Middle East, threw their weight behind the Russian view.
“The United Nations has asked for unconditional and unfettered access by inspectors in Iraq and that condition has been met,” Jordan’s Foreign Minister Marwan Moasher told reporters.
“I believe the tension has been somewhat defused and it is up to all of us to do what we can in order to change the dynamics and make sure that a war is avoided in the region,” he said.
Iraq made its decision known in a letter delivered to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Monday by its foreign minister, Naji Sabri.
“After the letter by the Iraqi government, I see no need for another Security Council resolution,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said.
“We see no reason to go to the Security Council now except to register this agreement,” he added.
Speaking on Monday, Annan paid tribute to the Arab states, saying they “played a key role” in persuading Iraq to allow the arms inspectors back.
France, another permanent council member, was non-committal about the need for a new council resolution.
“The technical arrangements are specified in Resolution 1284,” French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told reporters.
“We wish to act without delay. The international community must now send in the inspectors and they must be able to start their work quickly,” he added.
Asked whether a new resolution was required, de Villepin replied:
“We shall talk about it in the Security Council. We must study the Iraqi letter in detail and talk to the secretary general about it. But I believe that the elements enabling us to act are already in place.”—AFP
