US Stresses Importance of Jan. 27; Russia Continues Mediation

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 17, 2003

US Stresses Importance of Jan. 27; Russia Continues Mediation

After 11 empty chemical warheads were found in Iraq on Thursday, the United States again underscored the importance of Jan 27, the UN report day. But Russia and the international community continued their efforts to avert a possible US military strike against Iraq.

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US Underscores Importance of JAN. 27

The United States said on Thursday that Jan. 27, the deadline for the United Nations arms inspectors to submit a report on Iraq's weapons programs, will be an "important date" in determining whether there will be war against Iraq.

"The president has not made any decisions about whether we will or will not go to war. That decision will ultimately be made by (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said in Washington.

He stressed that Jan. 27 is "an important date," saying: "Beyond that, events will dictate timetables."

Fleischer also said the Bush administration was cautious about responding to the discovery of 11 empty chemical weapons warheads in southern Iraq by UN weapons inspectors on Thursday. He added that Washington would be deliberate in reacting to the discovery because it was still assessing related information coming out from Iraq.

Scott McClellan, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said on Thursday in Scranton, Pennsylvania, that the Bush administration was aware of the reports about the discovery and is looking forward to receiving information from the UN inspectors who found the empty warheads.

McClellan, who was accompanying President George W. Bush on a trip to Scranton, refused to further comment on the findings.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said earlier Thursday that the empty chemical weapons warheads just discovered in southern Iraq could not amount to "a smoking gun" the United States was looking for to prove Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

"A smoking gun would be if you found a big stockpile with chemicals," the official said.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte, on Thursday, urged the Security Council to be united again in keeping maximum pressure on Iraq for more "proactive" cooperation in the ongoing weapons inspection.

Following a closed consultation on Iraq by the 15-member Security Council at the UN headquarters in New York, Negroponte told reporters that pressure was needed for Iraq to cooperate "immediately, unconditionally and proactively".

The continuing hot debate over the implementation of two UN resolutions on Iraq has divided the council, with some key members arguing for suspension of sanctions imposed on the country following its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The dispute over different interpretations stems from the fact that UN inspectors are operating under two separate council resolutions. Security Council Resolution 1441, adopted unanimously on Nov. 8, 2002, reopened the door to Iraq for inspectors after a four-year break. It gives Iraq a "final opportunity" to honor its obligations for disarmament or face "serious consequences."

Resolution 1284, adopted in Dec. 1999, created the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and laid out a timetable that could lead to a suspension of the sanctions. It requires inspectors to submit the list of Iraq's key remaining disarmament tasks.

11 Empty Chemical Warheads Found in Iraq

A senior Iraqi official Thursday denied the 11 empty chemical warheads the UN inspector had found in an ammunition storage depot were linked to banned weapons programs. He said they had expired long ago.

"These are 122 mm rockets with an empty warhead. There are no chemical or biological agents or weapons of mass destruction or linked to weapons of mass destruction," Gen. Hussam Mohammed Amin,chief of the National Monitoring Directorate, told reporters in Baghdad.

The inspectors' "huge finding" was only "empty, small artillery rockets... and they are forgotten... and expired 10 years ago," said Amin, who is also Iraq's chief liaison officer with the UN inspectors.

A UN spokesman Thursday revealed that UN arms inspectors found 11 empty chemical warheads at an ammunition storage depot in their daily hunt for banned weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

The UN inspectors "discovered 11 empty 122 mm chemical warheads and one warhead that requires further evaluation" when they visited "the Ukhaider Ammunition Storage Area to inspect a large group of bunkers constructed in the late 1990's," the spokesman, Hiro Ueki, said.

"The warheads were in excellent condition and were similar to ones imported by Iraq during the late 1980's," he said.

"The team used portable X-ray equipment to conduct a preliminary analysis of one of the warheads and collected samples for chemical testing," the spokesman added.

Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix and International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Mohamed el Baradei said on Thursday that to avoid military conflict, Iraq must do more to prove it did not possess chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.

"The message we want to bring to Baghdad is, the situation is very tense and very dangerous and everybody wants to see a verified and credible disarmament of Iraq," Blix said in Brussels where he met European Union officials.

He said inspections were one way to resolve the dispute. He also cautioned: "We feel Iraq must do more than they have done so far."

El Baradei, who was in Moscow to meet Russian officials, said: "Iraq should understand that if we continue to report that there are open questions, and we cannot exclude the possibility that they still have some weapons of mass destruction, that will not satisfy the (UN) Security Council."

Blix and El Baradei are scheduled to brief the Security Councilon Jan. 27. But Blix said he was "almost sure" diplomats would request another report in February.

Russia Insists on Diplomatic Solution to Crisis

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov said on Thursday that Russia is committed to finding a "diplomatic solution" to the Iraqi crisis, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA)reported.

Saltanov, who arrived in Baghdad late Wednesday leading a delegation that also includes Deputy Energy Minister Ivan Matlashov and the heads of some top companies, made the remarks athis meeting with Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan.

"Saltanov said Russia has a fixed stance towards the Iraqi crisis, which is to continue to exert every effort to reach a diplomatic solution and to ensure Iraq's national unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty," INA reported.

The INA said Saltanov, in his meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, on Wednesday night soon after arriving, also stressed the need for UN arms inspectors to continue their work, and praised the "positive spirit of cooperation from Iraq."

Upon arrival at Baghdad's Saddam International Airport, Saltanov told reporters the delegation members "are here to seize any chance to achieve and find a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the Iraq issue and to avoid military scenarios."

Asked if he was carrying an official message for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Saltanov said "these are only consultations, (and) there is no special message.

"The important thing is to exchange views on the situation in Iraq and the region," the Russian envoy added.

Efforts to Avoid War on Iraq Intensify

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said in Cairo on Thursday that Egypt will study a Turkish proposal on holding a regional summit on the Iraqi crisis.

"When we receive an invitation and see its details and proposed agenda, we would consult with our Arab brothers as we all seek to contribute to a peaceful solution to the situation in Iraq," he said.

Egypt welcomes any effort to avert military strikes in the region, he added.

Earlier in the day, Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal met with ambassadors of Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iran to extend invitations for next week's meeting in Ankara.

"We have evaluated the possibility for regional countries to issue a call for the Iraqi administration to take all initiative to allow the peaceful resolution of the problem," a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Syria's state-run radio Thursday accused Washington of contradicting the UN Security Council's resolutions by amassing troops in the Gulf in preparation for war against Iraq before arms inspectors finished their work.

The continuous US threats against Iraq and its troops build-up in the Gulf contradicted Security Council Resolution 1441 and the work of international inspectors, it said.

The radio added that Syria was trying, through intensive diplomatic efforts, to unify Arab and Islamic stances and convinceall countries that a US war against Iraq would harm international security and stability.

However, Israel and Jordan are pessimistic about the possibility of avoiding a US military campaign against Iraq.

Chances are high that there will be an American assault against Iraq, Israeli media reported on Thursday.

President George W. Bush had based his image on being a determined leader, but if he retreated from the preparations he had been making for the past year, and decided to avoid war, he could lose his political advantage, the reports said.

Meanwhile, Jordanian King Abdullah II said Thursday that opportunities of preventing war against Iraq are tiny.

The king aired the pessimistic view to a gathering of Jordanian writers and journalists, noting the risk of war loomed large despite Jordan's tireless efforts to prevent war against Iraq.

Consequences of a possible war were still unclear for all, he warned. But he vowed that Jordan would take all necessary measures to ease the negative effects of a possible war on Iraq.

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