United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Iraq's leadership on Sunday concluded an agreement aimed at resolving the standoff over weapons inspections.
"We have a deal," said United Nations Spokesman Fred Eckhard, who is travelling with the Secretary-General in Baghdad. In addition to holding a series of talks with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, the Secretary-General met for three hours on Sunday with President Saddam Hussein at the Republican Palace in Baghdad.
According to Mr. Eckhard, the agreement fulfils the principal objectives the Secretary-General had from the outset: ensuring respect for the Security Council resolutions governing the inspection regime in Iraq, and preserving the integrity of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) charged with overseeing the disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
The Secretary-General is scheduled to fly to Paris on Monday after signing the agreement. From there, he will proceed to New York to brief the Security Council. Mr. Eckhard said that the Secretary-General expects that the agreement will be acceptable to all members of the Council.
While in Baghdad, the Secretary-General was in telephone contact with a number of world leaders, including representatives of all five permanent members of the Security Council. On Saturday, Mr. Annan met with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Envoy, Viktor Posuvalyuk, as well as the country's Ambassador, Nikolai Kartouzov. He also met members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Baghdad.
The meetings on weapons inspections were not linked to talks scheduled for Monday on the "oil-for-food" programme for Iraq. On Friday, the Security Council expanded the oil-for-food programme, authorizing Iraq to sell $5.2 billion worth of oil every six months -- up from $2 billion under previous arrangements. The expansion will take effect only after the Secretary-General has approved a distribution plan submitted by Iraq.
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