Blair 'confident' of UN deal on Iraq ultimatum
Tony Blair said today he was “confident” of securing agreement on a new United Nations resolution on Iraq as international weapons inspectors prepared for talks on returning to Baghdad.
British and American officials were engaged in an intensive diplomatic campaign to win support from the other permanent members of the UN Security Council – France, Russia and China – for a toughly worded resolution on weapons inspections.
The three – who could each veto any new resolution – are deeply reluctant to accede to British and American demands for a UN mandate for immediate military action if Saddam Hussein fails to comply with the inspection regime.
Mr Blair today sought to play down reports that a draft text being circulated by Britain and the US would give the Iraqis just seven days to accept the inspection terms and a further 30 days to declare their entire arsenal of weapons mass destruction.
“It is probably not quite as definite as it might appear from some of the papers,” he told BBC TV’s Breakfast with Frost.
He indicated that Britain could be prepared to accept the French suggestion of two resolutions – the first setting out the inspection terms with a second authorising military action to be passed only if the Iraqis fail to comply with the first.
“We can leave that open for the moment,” he said. “There are lots of questions about do you go back to the UN at a later stage. Let’s take it step by step.”
He stressed that Britain was determined one way or the other to ensure that Iraq was stripped of its chemical, biological and nuclear capabilities.
“It will happen either through the UN inspections route or it will happen otherwise. But it will happen,” he said.
Earlier the Foreign Office deputy under secretary for defence and international security, William Ehrman, arrived in Beijing for talks with the Chinese while the US under secretary of state Marc Grossman met Russian Foreign minister Igor Ivanov in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already expressed his opposition to any new Security Council resolution while the Chinese are also thought to be sceptical.
In Vienna, the head of the UN weapons inspectors Hans Blix, together with the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA), were preparing for two days of technical talks starting tomorrow with the Iraqis on the resumption of inspections for the first time in four years.
“We’re looking for Iraqi cooperation here, but these are not political talks,” said IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming.
“We are not going to be negotiating here. We’re going to be laying on the table the requirements we’re going to have as inspectors.”
