Bush Administration Wants U.S. Dues Paid: AnnanU.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in the UN Friday that the U.S. President George W. Bush and other senior U.S. officials had indicated their desire to honor the country's financial obligations to the world body.Annan made his statement upon his arrival at the U.N. headquarters in New York following his meetings hours ago with Bush and other senior U.S. officials in Washington. Annan told reporters here that both President Bush and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell "are very supportive of the U.N. and believe that there should be no withholding of the funds -- it 's the wrong thing to do." Annan was commenting on a recent decision by the U.S. Congress to attach an amendment to the bill authorizing the dues payment which would withhold a portion if Washington does not regain its seat on the Geneva-based U.N. Commission on Human Rights. Annan stressed that President Bush had indicated "that he would also want to see the dues paid without any withholding." "My sense is that they would want to see the U.S. honor the understanding that was reached last year and pay a substantial portion of their arrears, and of course continue to pay its annual contribution both on the regular budget and peacekeeping," Annan said. "As Secretary-General of the U.N., I've always maintained that these dues are legal obligations and they have to be paid by all member states in full, on time and without conditions." The U.S. reluctance in the past in paying back dues had plunged the world body into a long financial crisis. |
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