France Remains Opposed to New UN Resolution on Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, February 24, 2003

France Remains Opposed to New UN Resolution on Iraq

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French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin reaffirmed France's opposition to a new UN Security Council resolution on Iraq, insisting that the UN weapons inspectors should be allowed to continue their mission in Iraq.

In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro which is to be published on Monday, Villepin said that the inspections "produce results and can lead to the disarmament of Iraq."

He stressed that Iraq must destroy its Al-Samoud missiles, saying "if the Iraqis went ahead with these destructions, it wouldbe a positive step."

On Sunday, French government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope also said that France is opposed to a new UN Security Council resolution on Iraq as long as the weapons inspectors in Iraq are making progress.

Speaking on Europe-1 radio, Cope urged Iraq to fully cooperate with the UN inspectors and destroy its Al-Samoud 2 missiles because their range exceeds the 150 km permitted by UN resolutions.

The United States is expected to submit a draft new UN resolution on Iraq in the next few days, seeking authorization from the United Nations for an attack on Iraq.

A French diplomatic source said on Sunday that the United States would probably submit the draft resolution to the Security Council on Tuesday.

The draft document would be short and would not include an ultimatum to Iraq, said the source.

It would focus on two issues: Iraq has committed patent violations on disarmament and it must be punished for these violations, the source said.

Meanwhile, in the Turkish capital of Ankara, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Sunday that Iraq must destroy its Al-Samoud 2 missiles, or it will prompt the UN Security Council to take a decision on the issue.

Upon his arrival in Ankara, Annan told reporters that he is confident that Iraq will destroy these missiles.

"They (the Iraqis) should realize the urgency and the seriousness of the situation," said Annan, who is to discuss the issue of reunification of Cyprus with Turkish leaders.

In a related development, Syrian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Farouq Al-Shara said on Sunday that there is no reason for the United Nations Security Council to adopt a new resolution on Iraq.

It is still possible for a peaceful solution to the Iraqi crisis, Shara told US Secretary of State Colin Powell by phone, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.

Syria believes that a new resolution, no matter how moderate in verbalism it would be, "will give the impression that Resolution 1441 has expired and will be used by the warmongers in the United States and outside as a pretext to strike at Iraq," Shara said.

Syria is the only Arab member on the 15-member UN Security Council.

In Cairo, the Arab League (AL) announced on Sunday that 21 of its 22 members have agreed on the annual summit to be held on March 1 in Egypt's Red Sea resort Sharm el-Sheikh.

The only country yet to give an approval is Iraq, which wants apostponement until after March 14, when the UN Security Council isexpected to assess the weapons inspections in Iraq at the requestof France.

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