Saddam: “We will not accept new UN conditions”

BAGDAD – Iraq will not accept a UN Security Council resolution imposing new conditions for its disarmament. This was stated today by Baghdad radio after a meeting of President Saddam Hussein with senior officials. “Iraq,” the statement reads, “announces that it will not cooperate with a new resolution different from that agreed with the UN Secretary-General”.

In practice, any imposition of new inspection conditions is rejected in advance. It is the United States and Great Britain that are pressing for the Security Council to issue a “strong” resolution before the inspectors actually return to Iraq to resume their work: in practice, Washington and London want a sort of ultimatum that, in the event of default , allow to pass to the armed action without further delay.

For this reason, late yesterday evening, the British ambassador to the Palace of Glass, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, had meetings with representatives of the ten non-permanent Member States of the Council, seeking to obtain support for a measure that requires unrestricted and unconditional access of UN personnel to suspicious sites and material, and that at the same time already clearly outline what the consequences would be of a lack of cooperation by the Iraqi regime with respect to controls.

The Foreign Minister, Nayi Sabri, also attended the meeting of Saddam with his closest collaborators, who briefed those present on the results of their mission in New York and the meetings held on the sidelines of the annual plenary session of the UN General Assembly.

Later, an anonymous government spokesman further explained the meaning of the statement, stating that “no other requirements or conditions will be accepted”.

The US administration, which has repeatedly threatened to act on its own and unilaterally if the United Nations did not adopt a new, more drastic resolution, had had to cash out Russia’s refusal to support it yesterday.

September 21, 2002