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S P E C I A L: The Standoff with Iraq Support may be growing for air strikes against Iraq
Primakov greets Albright Latest developments:
January 30, 1998
- Cautious support from Germany, Sweden
- Iraq 'acts the way it wants'
- Albright to visit Middle East
Web posted at: 9:41 p.m. EDT (2141 GMT)MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright collected another rebuff Friday in her pursuit of support for military intervention in Iraq, but there were signs that other nations may be warming to the idea.
While Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov told Albright in Madrid that his country still opposes an attack on Iraq, President Clinton made headway with French President Jacques Chirac, and Germany and Sweden indicated they might support air strikes on Iraq.
Primakov and Albright had a three-hour meeting in a VIP lounge at Barajas airport during which Primakov said Russia is still opposed to using force in Iraq.
The sentiment was echoed in Davos, Switzerland, by Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, who said Russia is "strongly opposed" to Western air strikes.
U. N. inspectors in Baghdad are moving into hotels after Iraq asked them to leave their private homes "Everything must be done to find a political solution," Chernomyrdin said. "Bombing would make matters worse, not only in the Middle East, but in the world at large. We have to use all other available means and negotiations."
But Albright said, "I remain skeptical that diplomacy will solve this problem. We have all but exhausted our diplomatic options."
She said the U.S. government's patience is wearing thin.
"The time is fast approaching for fundamental decisions," she said. "Unfortunately, there is no concrete evidence that Iraq is negotiating for any reason other than diversion and delay."
Citing Iraq's intransigence on allowing certain weapons sites where U.S. and U.N. experts believe anthrax and other biological weapons ingredients are being secretly stored, she again raised the possibility of an attack.
But Primakov said, "we're a little more patient."
Iraq 'acts the way it wants'
Iraqi president Saddam Hussein Albright then flew to London and met with Jordan's King Hussein before meeting with British foreign secretary Robin Cook.
Although Jordan buys 90,000 barrels of oil a day from Iraq, King Hussein has expressed concern that air strikes on Iraq would hurt the Iraqi people most. Nevertheless, he also criticized the Iraqi government Friday, saying it "acts the way it wants."
Clinton, meanwhile, discussed the situation with Chirac in what Chirac's spokeswoman, Catherine Colonna, described as a "good, useful and confiding" conversation.
"The two presidents agreed on all points evoked in the current phase," Colonna said.
France, along with Russia, has been a steadfast opponent of using force in Iraq, but Chirac told Clinton he would warn Iraq of "grave consequences" if it continues its defiance.
Chirac told Clinton that "all options remained open," although Colonna said "France prefers the diplomatic route. It will step up its efforts in this direction."
In a related development, a spokesman in France's foreign ministry told journalists that Iraq's call for a freeze on U.N. weapons inspections is "unacceptable."
In other developments:
Cohen Germany and Sweden added their cautious support to the idea of military action against Iraq.
"One cannot rule out military action" if diplomacy fails, said German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel in Bonn.
"The United Nations needs to have teeth, in the end," Sweden's State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Jan Eliasson said in Stockholm after meeting with U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Bill Richardson.
But China declared flatly that it opposes the use of force.
"China has always stood for the peaceful resolution of international disputes," Qin Huason, China's U.N. ambassador said.
He said China had "legitimate concerns" about Iraq's sovereignty that it should be respected.
Turkey, too, made it clear that the United States could not count on it for help.
"There could be no question of us participating actively in intervention," Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz was quoted as saying by the Anatolian new agency. "We have serious reservations about participating passively."
Yilmaz did not say what he meant by "passively," but U.S. flights from the southern Turkish air base at Incirlik have protected Kurds in northern Iraq from attack by the Iraqi government.
Yilmaz said the United States has not requested permission to use the base to attack Iraq.
Albright to visit Middle East
In Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen urged U.N. solidarity against Saddam Hussein to help avert conflict.
"We think it's very important that the United Nations remains solid and unified in its statements about condemnations of his actions," he told the House of Representatives banking committee. "The more solid the United Nations is, the less likely conflict will be."
Albright plans to fly to Israel Saturday night for separate talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Afterward, she is to visit Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait, to discuss the crisis with their monarchs. She is not expected to ask the Arab states to participate in any strike against Iraq, although diplomats say the United States would like to use bases in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Iraq Standoff Main | Latest Stories | Message Board
Related stories:
- Russia still opposes military force against Iraq - January 30, 1998
- U.S. gives diplomacy last-ditch effort in Iraq crisis - January 29, 1998
- Albright to begin Iraq talks with U.S. allies - January 29, 1998
- Iraq lashes out at chief U.N. weapons inspector - January 28, 1998
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