Speech by Iraqi Leadership Shows no Flexibility: Annan

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, August 09, 2002

Speech by Iraqi Leadership Shows no Flexibility: Annan

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday that he saw no sign in a speech by President Saddam Hussein of any flexibility on its attitude on UN arms inspection.

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UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday that he saw no sign in a speech by President Saddam Hussein of any flexibility on its attitude on UN arms inspection.

"I think the president's statement, insisting on answers to the19 questions, doesn't show any flexibility from their previous position," Annan said at the UN headquarters in New York.

In his speech broadcast live on TV, Saddam urged the world bodyto answer the 19 questions submitted to Annan in March at the start of talks on the readmission of UN weapons inspectors.

Asked if there was any cause for optimism following Saddam's speech, Annan told reporters, "Not at this stage, not unless thereare unforeseen developments."

Annan said he had not received a response from the Iraqis to a letter he wrote them two days ago in which he said Baghdad would have to send a "formal invitation" for UN inspectors to return to Baghdad before further substantive talks.

Iraq sent an invitation last week for chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix to visit Baghdad for talks to evaluate weaponsissues. But Annan said UN Security Council resolutions ruled out any talks on this subject before inspectors were back on the ground.

The questions submitted by Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri were focused on such issues as US threats to topple Saddam, the route toward lifting sanctions and how to get rid of the unilaterally imposed American-British no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq.

Iraq also demanded to know how much time new inspections might take and whether the UN believed experts from the US would be "unbiased" members of inspection teams.

Annan had passed the questions to the council because he believes "it is an issue for the council members to answer," and he is not sure "the council as a whole can answer."

"It looks as if they were directed to individual member states," he said earlier Thursday as he entered the UN headquarters in New York.

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