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Iraq: Europe enters summit splitEurope's leaders meet after mass antiwar protests
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Divided European leaders will seek common ground on the Iraq crisis at a summit Monday after opponents of a U.S.-led war received a double boost from U.N. arms inspectors and mass demonstrations. World wide protests by millions of anti-war demonstrators on Saturday failed however to dent the hardline stance of the U.S. and Britain who continued to insist force would be used against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein if necessary. U.S. President George W. Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said President Bush would not back down. She said consultations were continuing over an additional U.N. resolution to ensure Saddam eliminates weapons of mass destruction. (Full story) Senior UK Cabinet members rallied behind Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush's closest ally on Iraq. His deputy John Prescott used a speech in Glasgow, Scotland, to urge Labour activists and the wider public to trust his judgement. The chairman of Blair's Labour Party, John Reid, said that protesters who took part in the massive anti-war marches would share in the moral responsibility if Saddam remained in power to torture and kill his own people. Iraq was gloating Sunday over the global outpouring of opposition to a possible U.S.-led war against the country, saying the rallies by millions of people signaled an Iraqi victory and "the defeat and isolation of America." (Full story) More than 750,000 people joined the weekend antiwar rally in London, a million in Rome, 500,000 in Germany and 300,000 across France, with similar mass demonstrations in Australia and the U.S. (Full story) As 15 EU heads of state prepared for Monday's Brussels summit, diplomats told Reuters they hoped the mixed report from chief weapons inspectors to the U.N. on Friday and the huge antiwar protests could defuse a confrontational "high noon" mood. They said they hoped Europe's leaders could unite behind a final plea to Saddam Hussein to comply with U.N. disarmament resolutions before it is too late. French President Jacques Chirac told Time magazine the U.N. weapons inspectors should be given more time and resources to ensure the peaceful disarmament of Iraq, warning that a conflict could "create a large number of little bin Ladens." But he left the door open to U.N. backing for military action. "If Iraq doesn't cooperate and the inspectors say this isn't working, it could be war," he said in a lengthy interview. "In cities across Europe, people were clearly showing that they did not want war. I hope this... will help the EU to find a common position on Monday," Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt told reporters. The EU summit comes as NATO tries to resolve another European split with Belgium, France and Germany blocking a bid to help Turkey prepare for a possible war. Turkey said Prime Minister Abdullah Gul and Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis would be in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday and could attend bilateral meetings with EU leaders. The EU's efforts to build a common foreign and security policy have been an early casualty of the Iraq crisis, with the bloc splitting into pro-American and anti-war factions. The EU's traditional leadership axis, France and Germany, has headed the anti-war camp, which includes to varying degrees Sweden, Finland, Austria, Luxembourg and Greece, although Athens is bound to neutrality as it holds the rotating EU presidency. The pro-American grouping led by Britain and Spain includes Italy, Denmark, Portugal and EU candidates Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Another 10 east European aspirants to EU and NATO membership have joined them.
Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, who called Monday's summit, warned last week that failure to agree on a common position would plunge the EU into deep crisis. His foreign minister, George Papandreou, told reporters it was vital EU divisions did not send the wrong signal to Baghdad. "If we want to try to avoid war, we must make sure that Saddam Hussein does not think that the debate we have in the Security Council and the European Union means that we disagree on the purpose of full compliance," Papandreou said. Papandreou met Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri in Cairo on Sunday on the sidelines of an emergency meeting of the 22-member Arab League, the highest-level EU-Iraq contact for years. Ahead of the summit, Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar wrote separately to their EU partners urging them to put maximum pressure on Iraq. Blair and Aznar pressed for the EU's 10 acceding states and three other candidates, all pro-American, to take part on Monday. But Greece stuck to the letter of the law, which says candidates only have a right to attend EU meetings once their accession treaties have been signed, due in April. Instead, their leaders have been invited to Brussels for a briefing on Tuesday. The EU session will begin with a foreign ministers' meeting at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) and a working lunch. The leaders meet at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) and will have talks with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan before trying to agree a common position over dinner. "Let's ensure Europe is able to assert its identity and its principles. That is what's at stake at the European summit," French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper in an interview published on Sunday. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The world rises against American aggression and the arrogance of naked force
