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Annan reaffirms unconditional access to Iraqi weapons sites
One of the Iraqi presidential sites In this story:
April 15, 1998
- Report says Iraqis object
- Diplomats challenge inspections
- Overflights biggest issue
- Related sites and stories
Web posted at: 9:49 p.m. EDT (0149 GMT)UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Responding to a report that Iraq may be trying to limit access to its presidential compounds, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan emphasized Wednesday that the deal he signed with the Iraqis allows unconditional access to all sites.
Annan was reacting to a report that Iraq's oil minister, Gen. Amir Mohammed Rasheed, balked at the idea of repeated, indefinite visits to the sites. But Annan noted that his agreement with the Iraqis was approved by President Saddam Hussein and Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz.
"I don't know if Gen. Rasheed can overrule President Saddam Hussein and Tariq Aziz," Annan said, "and that agreement was signed by Tariq Aziz and discussed with the president. So if there's any change in the government, I expect it to come from (a) higher level."
Britain's ambassador to the United Nations, Sir John Weston, agreed, telling reporters, "I think if you look at the text of those documents, you will see there is no provision that limits the availability of those kinds of inspections."
Rasheed Charles Duelfer, who led a team of arms experts and diplomats on inspections of eight Iraqi "presidential sites" in March and April, wrote about Rasheed's objection and other difficulties in a report to the U.N. Security Council.
Diplomats challenge inspections
The inspections between March 26 and April 3 opened the presidential sites to inspectors for the first time. The inspection teams were accompanied by diplomats sent to observe the inspections, as specified in the agreement Annan negotiated with Iraq.
Duelfer said that while the mission went smoothly as a whole, there were instances when the inspectors' work was challenged by the Iraqis, sometimes with the support of the diplomats.
"It is essential to note," Duelfer wrote in an annex to the report, "that the fundamental issue of continuing access is by no means solved and has only been postponed to the future."
Duelfer said Rasheed told him the accord negotiated by Annan in February meant the visits had a "finite duration."
Duelfer He also wrote that in certain circumstances, the diplomats agreed with Iraqi objections and challenged the work of the inspectors, who are charged with dismantling Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
"At times, it seemed that Iraq was raising spurious issues with the diplomats to put the (U.N. Special) Commission's experts on the defensive," he wrote in the report.
Overflights biggest issue
The most contentious issue concerned overflights and photography of the presidential sites by U.N. helicopters.
The Iraqis contacted Annan's new envoy in Baghdad, Indian diplomat Prakash Shah, who relayed a complaint to New York.
Annan supported the inspectors, but Duelfer said the chief inspector on a mission risked "being undercut in seeking Iraqi compliance in future disputes."
Reuters contributed to this report.
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CNN/Time Impact:
Related stories:
- U.N. agency says Iraq has no nuclear program - April 13, 1998
- U.N.'s Butler returns to Baghdad - March 22, 1998
- Baghdad calls for better relations with U.S. - March 15, 1998
- U.N. envoy in Iraq says Baghdad will cooperate - March 14, 1998
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