February 3, 2003	Monday	Zilhaj 1,1423

DAMASCUS, Feb 2: Syria said on Sunday that a new UN resolution seeking military action against Iraq was not required for the time being and that weapons inspectors must be allowed to complete their mission.

“We feel that a second UN resolution is not necessary for the time being, instead UN weapons inspectors must be allowed to finish their work and the rest of the world should not interfere with that work, “said Syrian Foreign Minister, Faruq Al-Shara.

Greek reports have said that Washington may push for new resolutions in about two weeks.

The United States and Britain have repeatedly said that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction and is not cooperating sufficiently with November’s UN 1441 resolution, requiring it to disarm.

“Resolution 1441 should be implemented by the Security Council as a whole, and not by one country in the Security Council”, said the Cypriot foreign minister.

George Papandreou, the foreign minister of Greece, which currently holds the rotating E.U. presidency stressed that a peaceful solution could only come about with the full implementation of the UN resolution.

Papandreou is currently on an E.U.-supported emergency mission to the Middle East in an effort to seek regional support for talks that could avert a possible war with Iraq.

“The message in the region is clear, the region does want peace”, said Papandreou.

The Syrian Foreign Minister, said that the current crisis involving Iraq is between the UN and Iraq, and not between the United States and Iraq.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell is to give evidence to the security council later this week, in what Washington hopes will be a speech which convinces the council to give backing for a war.

“If the American attempt, is not supported by tangible documents to prove that weapons of mass destruction exist or have not been destroyed, then it will only add to the series of allegations that we have been hearing in the last few months”, Al-Shara concluded.—dpa