A-Infos (en) Brit description of prospective Iraq agreement

[MichaelP <papadop@PEAK.ORG>]

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     A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
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February 23, 1998
London Electronic Telegraph
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   THE United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has been authorised
   to offer three significant face-saving concessions to President Saddam
   Hussein in his final attempt this weekend to avert an air attack on
   Iraq.
   
   The package includes the explicit prospect of an end to sanctions.
   Details of the final offer, which has been thrashed out by the five
   permanent UN Security Council members, emerged as Mr Annan delivered a
   final warning in Baghdad yesterday that military strikes were imminent
   if Saddam did not end his defiance of weapons inspections.
   
   There was still no sign of the Iraqi leader, who must put his name in
   writing to any last-minute agreement. Instead, Mr Annan dealt with
   Tariq Aziz, deputy prime minister and Baghdad's chief negotiator.
   
   After an initial meeting lasting 90 minutes, Mr Annan said he was
   "rather optimistic". He hoped to meet Saddam later today, and was
   confident that he would return to New York tomorrow with a written
   agreement.
   
   "We started well," said Mr Annan. "It's not easy. We still have quite
   a lot of work to do, but we had a good meeting. They were substantive
   talks."
   
   During the talks, Mr Annan outlined details of the final package on
   offer to the Iraqis from the Security Council's permanent members. The
   agreed formula allows Mr Annan to offer Saddam:
   
     An explicit public pledge that sanctions will be lifted for good
   once UN inspectors are satisfied that it has fully cleared the country
   of weapons of mass destruction.
   
     Concessions to his demand that diplomats may join inspection teams
   when "sensitive sites" such as presidential palaces are examined.
   However, it rejects once-only inspection of such sites.
   
     Agreement to a wider range of nationalities on inspection teams,
   while not conceding any right to Iraq to "veto" their ultimate right
   to choose personnel.
   
   As an additional incentive for a deal, the UN is ready to elaborate on
   a far more specific timetable than hitherto offered for giving Iraq a
   clean bill of health.
   
   Mr Annan will tell Baghdad that the inspectors are ready to "check
   off" each of the four regimes - missiles, nuclear, biological and
   chemical weapons systems - one by one, once they are completed. The
   inspectors would then move on to a less intrusive monitoring regime.
   
   The permanent five members of the Security Council have also told Mr
   Annan that he may give a little ground on the inspection of
   presidential sites - making a distinction between large compounds and
   the actual residential parts of palaces.
   
   Washington and London are reported to have made plain to other
   Security Council members that they will not tolerate another round of
   diplomatic wrangling if Mr Annan returns to New York empty-handed.
   
     In another sign that an attack may be imminent, Washington yesterday
   advised US citizens to leave Iraq as soon as possible.
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