IRAQ: IRAQ SAYS THAT IT HAS LITTLE HOPE THAT WAR WILL BE AVERTED, BUT MAKING " MAXIMUM EFFORT" TO RESOLVE QUESTIONS RAISED BY UN WEAPONS INSPECTORS
Record ID:
208429
IRAQ: IRAQ SAYS THAT IT HAS LITTLE HOPE THAT WAR WILL BE AVERTED, BUT MAKING " MAXIMUM EFFORT" TO RESOLVE QUESTIONS RAISED BY UN WEAPONS INSPECTORS
- Title: IRAQ: IRAQ SAYS THAT IT HAS LITTLE HOPE THAT WAR WILL BE AVERTED, BUT MAKING " MAXIMUM EFFORT" TO RESOLVE QUESTIONS RAISED BY UN WEAPONS INSPECTORS
- Date: 9th March 2003
- Summary: (EU) BAGHDAD, IRAQ (MARCH 9, 2003) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE HALL 0.05 2. WIDE OF MEDIA 0.08 3. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) GENERAL HUSSAM MOHAMMED AMIN, HEAD OF THE IRAQI NATIONAL MONITORING DIRECTORATE (NMD) SAYING: "We are working intensively, Iraqi side is working intensively and we make maximum effort to resolve any questions addressed or raised by UNMOVIC and IAEA, regardless of those periods of seven days or 10 days, we consider the work is continuous and we hope to resolve the questions as soon as possible. "It is political and it is regarded [it regards] to the situation at the Security Council. It is not resolved now... But we think that these attempts [to pass resolution authorising use of military force] will be refused by the other states, other members of Security Council. " 1.05 4. CUTAWAY MEDIA 1.08 5. SCU (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) GENERAL HUSSAM MOHAMMED AMIN SAYING: "Last week Iraq handed over many letters which clarify answers to questions raised by UNMOVIC and IAEA, the work is also being conducted intensively to obtain evidence that Iraq had destroyed in 1991 all the R-400 aerial bombs filled with biological agents. The findings were encouraging and they confirm that Iraq has implemented the unilateral destruction of its weapons of mass destruction in 1991 and those findings enhance the supporting documents provided by Iraq in this regard" 1.52 6. WIDE OF PRESS CONFERENCE 1.56 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 24th March 2003 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BAGHDAD, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVA1S9JILAG1VX2DHYBDA83WXM17
- Story Text: General Hussam Mohammed Amin, head of the Iraqi
National Monitoring Directorate (NMD), said Iraq believed it
had little hope that it could avert a U.S.-led invasion no
matter what Baghdad did on the disarmament issue.
Asked whether Blix would visit soon, Amin told a news
conference in Baghdad on Sunday (March 9) that "he might visit
us on the 17th of this month."
He did not elaborate.
Blix and his team held two days of crucial disarmament
talks in Iraq in early February.
The United States and Britain have proposed a draft U.N.
Security Council resolution that gives Iraq to March 17 to
disarm or face the use of force. Voting on the resolution is
expected this week.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday the
United States had a "strong chance" of getting nine or 10
states in the 15-member Council to vote in favour of the U.S.
proposal.
But French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin is
embarking on a whistle-stop tour of "swing voters" Guinea,
Cameroon and Angola in the hope of persuading them to reject
it.
France and countries opposed to military action say
weapons inspectors who returned to Iraq in November after a
four-year absence should be given more time to work.
Washington and its allies Britain and Spain say Baghdad
has had 12 years to cooperate and has failed to do so.
Asked whether Baghdad believed that the United States
would attack whatever it did on cooperation and disarmament,
Amin said he believed it would.
"But we think that these attempts [to pass resolution
authorising use of military force] will be refused by the
other states, other members of Security Council, " he said.
Amin, whose NMD oversees cooperation with weapons
inspectors, said Iraq was also continuing its work to clarify
any outstanding disarmament issues regardless of the deadline.
"We are working intensively, Iraqi side is working
intensively and we make maximum effort to resolve any
questions addressed or raised by UNMOVIC and IAEA, regardless
of those periods of 7 days or 10 days, we consider the work is
continuous and we hope to resolve the questions as soon as
possible," he said.
Amin said Iraq destroyed six more banned al-Samoud
missiles on Sunday, bringing to 46 the total number of
missiles scrapped since Blix ordered Baghdad to start
eliminating the programme as of March 1. Iraq has around 120
al-Samoud missiles.
He said the inspectors have carried out 923 inspections of
722 sites since they resumed work last November.
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