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World reacts to Blix report
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Chief U.N. weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei briefed the U.N. Security Council Friday on Iraq's compliance with demands for it to destroy weapons of mass destruction. Members of the council then responded to their report. UK: Report a chilling readUK Foreign Secretary Jack straw said the report was "a chilling read." He said Iraq had made concessions to the U.N. inspectors only because of "the presence of over 200,000 United States and United Kingdom" troops. He said further progress -- and the final, successful disarmament of Iraq -- could be accomplished only with more pressure and that French Foreign Minister Dominque de Villepin's suggestion that the council must choose between disarmament by peace or disarmament by war was "a false choice." Straw circulated a draft resolution amendment that would give Iraq until March 17 to disarm. (Full story) In London, a spokesman for UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said Blix's report proved Iraq was in "material breach" of U.N. resolution 1441 demanding that it disarm. Within minutes of Blix's report to the U.N. Security Council, Blair's spokesman said it showed that Saddam had not complied immediately and fully as the resoultion required. "Hans Blix's report today confirms there is not full and immediate cooperation. That's why we believe that Saddam is in material breach of 1441," the spokesman said. Powell: A catalogue of non-cooperationU.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the world body "must not walk away" from supporting force to disarm Iraq, despite some progress achieved through the pressure of international inspections. President Saddam Hussein's intent "has not changed," Powell told the Security Council, as he sought adoption of a new resolution to back force as a last option. "Iraq is once again moving down the path to weapons of mass destruction," he said. Iraq's performance on disarmament is "still a catalogue of noncooperation," Powell said. With a long record of deceit, "how can we rely on assurances?" Powell asked. IraqMohammed Aldouri, Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, said the United States, Britain and their supporters continue to "trump up" facts and evidence that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, but "come up short" in convincing the international community. He added: "It seems that the possibility of a war of aggression being launched on Iraq has become imminent, regardless of what the Security Council decides and regardless of international position, both official and public, strongly rejecting aggression and war and demanding a peaceful solution." Aldouri said Iraq had made the strategic decision to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction in 1991. "The U.S. the UK and those standing on their side are unable to present any evidence proving the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They have also not been able to mask their own private agenda in the region and the world," he said. Those interests were oil and domination of the area politically and economically, he said. Germany: No new resolution neededGermany's foreign minister responded to the report by Blix and U.N. chief nuclear inspector Mohammed ElBaradei by saying no new resolution was needed. Joschka Fischer told the Security Council that Iraq's cooperation with inspectors had "notably improved" recently. "This makes all the less comprehensible why (inspections) should be abandoned," he said. "We see no need for a second resolution. ... We have an efficient alternative to war in Iraq. "We have to keep reminding ourselves what war would mean. ... Are we really in a situation that requires use of the last resort? I think not," Fischer said. "The risks of using the military option are evident to us all," he said, adding there was "good reason to believe the region would become less stable, not more" if military action is taken. Fischer said Iraq should have a timetable for each problem the inspectors have encountered. Germany is one of several members of the Security Council opposed to war and a resolution co-sponsored by the United States, Britain and Spain that could pave the way for a military attack. Ivanov: Peaceful solution still existsRussian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told the Security Council that Moscow believes the possibility of a peaceful solution still exists, and that such a solution would be an "important step" toward creating a more stable world.
Ivanov called for a U.N.-generated "list of tasks" for Iraq to complete, one that would answer "all remaining questions" about the disarmament. The military buildup outside Iraq has been a key factor in the current successes of the U.N. inspection teams, Ivanov noted. He said the inspections have been "fruitful" and that level of cooperation is far more than that Iraq provided to inspectors in the late 1990s. "For the first time in many years in Iraq there is a process of real disarmament under way," Ivanov said. Iraq has proved it is cooperating by destroying Al-Samoud 2 missiles and providing documents about anthrax and VX gas production, he said. "They open up the way to resolving remaining problems," he said, stressing the need for a long-term monitoring program in Iraq after disarmament is complete. De Villepin: War won't make world saferFrench Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, one of the chief opponents of war with Iraq, said the inspectors' reports "testify to the progress" made in the inspection regimen.
De Villepin, like Blix and Ivanov, said the U.S. and British military buildup in the Gulf has made that progress possible. He also joined Blix and Ivanov in proposing that Iraq be given a list of tasks to accomplish -- with a timetable -- to complete its disarmament. "But I will say it again, France will not allow a resolution to pass that authorizes the use of force," he said. De Villepin posed a series of questions to the Security Council: "Why should we now engage in war with Iraq? Why smash the instruments that have just proven their effectiveness? Why choose division when our unity and our resolve are ridding Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction?" War would "drive wedges" between peoples, he said. "War is always an acknowledgment of failure. Let us not resign ourselves to the irreparable." De Villepin said U.S. President George W. Bush's declaration that he seeks regime change in Iraq was not a part of U.N. Resolution 1441 and that such an action would further destabilize the Middle East region. China: Inspections should continueChinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan told the Security Council that Washington should put its full support behind the weapons inspection regimen in Iraq.
"There is no reason to shut the door on peace," Tang said. "Therefore we are not in favor of a new resolution, particularly one that authorizes the use of force." So far, Washington has public commitments from only Britain, Spain and Bulgaria while five nations are opposed and six remain publicly uncommitted. Of the neutral nations, Mexico remained on the fence Friday. Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez said all parties should keep working for consensus. Chile appeared to lean against the U.S. position. Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear said: "The statements we have heard lead us to believe that a solution that reconciles a yearning for peace and disarmament is still possible." SyriaForeign Minister Farouk Al-Shara gave his appreciation for the worldwide anti-war demonstrations and the support of church leaders against war in Iraq. He added: "Some believe the build-up of force by itself is sufficient to justify war against Iraq and destroy it because it is incomprehensible, and no one who is realistic will expect that these forces will go back to their barracks empty-handed. If this is the case, are we simply facing a just cause or simply an act of robbery? PakistanU.N. Ambassador Munir Akram said he "didn't believe that there is no imminent threat to international peace and security." He added: "The cost of delay in our view would be much less than the cost of war. The Security Council's vocation is peace, not war. "War would have grave consequences for the Iraqi people, for peace and stability in our fragile region, for international peace and security and for a world order based on the principles of the U.N. charter and the rule of law."
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