No Reason to Worry about UN Arms Assessment: Iraq

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 20, 2002

No Reason to Worry about UN Arms Assessment: Iraq

Iraq said on Thursday it has no reason to worry about the UN assessment of its weapons declaration,which may spell out peace or war in the Arab country.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Iraq said on Thursday it has no reason to worry about the UN assessment of its weapons declaration, which may spell out peace or war in the Arab country.

"We are not worried, it's the other party who is worried," Amir al-Saadi, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's science adviser, told a news conference in Baghdad.

"There's nothing to pin on us," he said, adding that "there is nothing that they don't know about Iraq's weapons programs. They know everything."

US and British officials have indicated that Iraq's 12,000-page dossier on its weapons programs contained "obvious omissions" and "holes," which may constitute a "material breach" of Iraq's obligations and thus a justification for war.

But Iraq categorically denied the allegations and challenged the United States and Britain to come up with evidences.

"They have not submitted one single proof," al-Saadi said, adding that "I haven't heard any arms expert saying that."

Al-Saadi's remarks came just before top UN inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei were expected to give the UN Security Councilan initial assessment of Iraq's arms declaration.

The Iraqi official said he would not be surprised if the UN inspectors see nothing new in the declaration because the Iraqis had already extensively reported to UN agencies in charge of Iraq's disarmament.

"What is new" in the Iraqi declaration is that it is written in Arabic and requires "technical translation," Al-Saadi told reporters.

"According to my information, they haven't done that yet," he added.

After briefing the Security Council behind closed doors on his first evaluation on Iraq's declaration, Blix, chief of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), told reporters that the massive dossier contained "little new information" and gaps remained in the declaration.

"As to the declaration, we are consistent in the view that there has been little evidence concerning the programs of weapons of mass destruction," he said.

Questions?Comments? Click here

No Reason to Worry about UN Arms Assessment: Iraq

US Sets Late Jan. as Make-or-break Point with Iraq: Newspaper

White House Says Saddam Missed 'Last Chance'

>> Full Coverage

Lifting the 'Mystical Veil' of China's Jails ( 2 Messages)

UN Official: China Becoming a "People Superpower" ( 2 Messages)

China to Control Population Size Within 1.4bn by 2010 ( 3 Messages)

Global Times: Why NATO Doesn't Want to Accept Russia? ( 2 Messages)

US to Begin Deploying Missile Defense System ( 2 Messages)

Chinese Entrepreneurs Ready to Invest in African Farming Sector ( 2 Messages)