UN-Iraq talks


Kofi Annan with Foreign Minister Mohamed Said al-Sahaf of Iraq at UN Headquarters.


Secretary-General Kofi Annan's remarks to the press on UN-Iraq talks

Remarks after Security Council consultations on Iraq, 28 March 2001 (unofficial transcript)

Secretary-General: I briefed the Security Council on my discussions with the Iraqi delegation and shared with them the issues we discussed, which was rather broad-ranging. They did state their position on almost everything on the Iraqi dossier from disarmament to the humanitarian [issue] to the Kuwaiti prisoners of war and property to the question of compensation. So we did go through the whole gamut and they had their chance to state what they see as their grievances or the facts as they perceive them. I did indicate to them the need to comply with the resolutions and the expectations of the Security Council. We have agreed to meet again, either in April or May, and at that point, we will have a chance to go into more details and tackle some of the specific outstanding questions. This afternoon, after I briefed the Council, there was a sense that they generally felt that it was a good sign that the talks had begun and they encouraged that it will be continued. Obviously the Council itself is reviewing the Iraqi dossier. Capitals are reviewing it, and I think as we move forward, all this will have to come together somehow.

Q: In your discussions with the Iraqi Foreign Minister, did you put any ideas or any proposals on the table or any suggestions that might help the Iraqis get through this?

SG: Not at this stage. Not at this first and initial round, but it will not be excluded for the second round. As I said, in the second round we should be expecting to be able to go into details.

Q: With the Security Council still divided, and the United States and Britain and other members reviewing the Iraqi policy, how can it remain….until this is resolved?

SG: In fact this was one of the issues we discussed in the Council. The Council for the question of the need for the Council to agree on certain critical questions and to try and restore the unity of the Council. The next meeting will not be before April, and I think we have four to five weeks, or six, for the situation to evolve, and I hope by implication of your question the issues that you have been in mind would also be clarified or at least some of them would have been clarified by then, given the intense nature of the discussions going on on this topic.

Q: In your contacts with Secretary [of State] Colin Powell, did you discuss any kind of package or his ideas about sanctions?

SG: We did not discuss a package. We did discuss the need for a review, the need for consultations, and I think that's one of the reasons why Secretary of State Colin Powell was in the Middle East, to consult the leaders in the region. He had held talks in Brussels with the French Foreign Minister and others and of course when he was here not long ago he also had the opportunity of talking to the permanent members of the Security Council. So that sort of consultations [happened],but we did not discuss a package.

Q: Secretary-General, did you see any linkage as was brought by the Iraqis between inspections on Iraq and the rest of the region?

SG: I think the disarmament issue is obviously one of the key questions. Iraq maintains that it has fulfilled, or has indicated that it has fulfilled all the disarmament obligations and requirements placed on it by the Council. And of course the Council Members are saying, if that's the case, let the inspectors come in and check it out and certify, and we will move forward. So the disarmament issue is a crucial one.

Q: A follow-up on inspections. Mr. Secretary-General, the Iraqis have made it clear that they will not accept the return of inspectors. Have they made it clear what type of inspections they were talking about? Is it the OMV that they had in mind or every type of inspection?

SG: I think the OMV had been discussed but let me say this. We are at the beginning of a process, and I agree that they have the position that they will not allow the inspectors in. But they are also keen to see the sanctions lifted and one of the key requirements is to have, so I think they are a bit easier than on the OMV, on the monitoring, but even on the monitoring, they would also want to see paragraph 14 also implemented and so this issue also came up but I think one of the key issues we have to resolve is this question of inspection or verification of what has been done and what has not been done.

Q: In your mind, in what you said to the Security Council, how do you see the priorities of the Iraqis, as indicated to the Council through you?

SG: Well, I think it became clear at the end of the talks that the Iraqis, from the discussions that I had with them saw three key priority areas: the no-fly zones, the disarmament issue and the question of economic sanctions. As it emerged, I think these are the three key areas for them.

Q: Just to clarify, when you said disarmament issues, is it in the way that the Iraqis put it, in the implementation of paragraph 14, or disarmament in the way that the Council sees it?

SG: I think they are linked. You cannot separate disarmament in terms of paragraph 14, which talks about security arrangements for the region, and a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, but also the Iraq-specific disarmament requirements with the Council demands. In effect the Council at this stage, I think, is more interested in the Iraq-specific issue; Iraq, of course, would want also to ensure that others in the region are also constrained.

Q: What evidence has Iraq given you that they have no more weapons of mass destruction? They said they were going to present you with evidence of that. What was the nature of that evidence?

SG: They made a presentation and gave me a piece of paper.

Q: Which said?

SG: Basically, that they have complied. But obviously, this is why we are going back and forth, whether it will now be necessary for the inspectors to get back to verify and confirm. As I said, we are at a very early stage, and I hope, next time they come, we will be able to go into more details, be specific and press on the issues that need to be resolved to make it possible for us to move forward. Thank you very much and have a good evening.

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Remarks upon arrival at UNHQ, 27 February 2001 - on Iraq (unofficial transcript)

SG: Good morning.

Q: Obviously you are aware of what Mr. Powell has been saying in the region. I wonder if he has communicated to you any of the ideas and the thoughts that are being discussed in terms of easing sanctions, and whether you have your own notion of what are "smart sanctions"?

SG: Let me say that on some of the ideas that Secretary of State [Colin] Powell has raised in the region, during his visit here he did hint at it without going into details, emphasizing the fact that the objective of the sanctions was not to hurt the Iraqi people, that they were not the targets, and one has to find a way of strengthening the disarmament regime and giving relief to the Iraqi people. So I am not surprised with the comments coming out of the region.

Q: Has there been follow up of the ideas as they have been shaped up?

SG: I think obviously he has had discussions in the region. He is meeting the French Foreign Minister in Brussels today. There are lots of discussions going on in capitals, and within the [Security] Council. I am sure that the Council members will need to work together on this and come to some consensus on how to proceed.

Q: Are smart sanctions part of this [inaudible]

SG: I think that would have to be for the [Security] Council to decide. I think as they review all these issues they will have to determine how to proceed, and I would not want to prejudge or preempt what the Council members may do, but obviously as you know there is lots of reflection and discussions going on, and I hope that out of all this will come something constructive.

Q: At the end of yesterday's meeting the Foreign Minister [Mohammed Saeed Al Sahaf] was very strong in his remarks about refusing to reaccept any weapons inspectors, under any circumstances; his insistence on involving Israel in monitoring - do you sense that the Iraqis are moving more towards some sort of flexibility or away from it after your talks with them?

SG: I think it is too early for me to get into that. But as I said we had good discussions, in a good atmosphere, and we are going to continue. I hope we will be able to tackle all the key issues, to be able to move forward. But I don't want to get into this at this stage.

Q: What do you think about the proof that he said he presented to you, on disarmament?

SG: We did discuss disarmament issues, and the way they saw it. They made a comprehensive presentation, indicating how they saw the facts, and also put forth quite a lot of their grievances as to how the regime has worked or not worked.

Q: The Iraqi side seems to be putting a lot of importance on the monitoring of the whole region, to make it a zone free of weapons of mass destruction. Do you foresee approaching the Israelis, approaching other countries in the region, talking to them about this point, that the Iraqis seem to be focussing a lot of importance on?

SG: I think when it comes to regional security arrangements, it should not be an issue only for the Iraqis. We should all be interested in it. That is the only way one can assure long-term regional security for that region. I think it is an objective that we should all work for, and I myself have had an occasion to raise this in the [Security] Council and in other fora, that we should think, in the long term, of security arrangements and a nuclear free zone for the region, and in fact the Council had indicated this in one of the resolutions.

Q: So you support, Mr. Secretary-General, the activation of paragraph 14 of Resolution 687, which speaks about making sure the disarmament of Iraq is a step within efforts to rid the region of weapons of mass destruction?

SG: I have no doubt that we need to work on a regional basis to ensure long term security in the region.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, will you formulate a common policy at the end of these talks? Will there be some sort of statement that will tell us what the pending issues are and what you have achieved in terms of progress?

SG: I think after the talks obviously I will brief the Security Council and the Council will factor into its own discussions and decision-making my discussions with the Iraqis, but the decision will be up to them. If the question is, if at the end of the talks, we will be able to make a statement to the press, an indication of where we are, we will be able to make a statement. I don't know how much detail we can go into, but we will give you a statement.

Q: It's going well?

SG: It's going well. Thank you.

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Remarks upon departure from UNHQ, 26 February 2001 - on Iraq (unofficial transcript)

SG: I think we have started well. We have had a long discussion, and the Iraqis shared with us their concerns. We covered quite a lot of territory, and the talks continue tomorrow. The spirit has been good, and I think that, from the indications they have given, we also are anxious to find a way of breaking the impasse. We are at the beginning yet; as I told you this morning, it's going to be a tough discussion. I can't promise miracles in the next two days, but we are moving along.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, do you have any reactions to the documents introduced this morning?

SG: I said we are still talking, and I would much rather not get into the details and the documents. Besides that, once we have discussed it, I would also have to brief the [Security] Council, a day or so after that, and we will have lots of time to talk. Thank you very much.

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Remarks upon arrival at UNHQ, 26 February 2001 - on Iraq (unofficial transcript)

SG:Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I gather you are all here this morning because of the talks with the Iraqi authorities. This is a follow-up to discussions I had with First Vice President Izzat Ibrahim in Doha on the 13th of November during the Islamic Conference. And during that conference I was also able to talk to lots of Arab and Islamic leaders as to what their own positions were vis-a-vis the sanctions against Iraq. I am encouraged that the Iraqi delegation is here and we're looking forward to a frank and constructive dialogue, and I hope we'll be able to find some ways as we move forward of breaking the current impasse which no one considers satisfactory. I do not expect miracles in the two days of talks, but at least it is a beginning.

Q: Do you think it is time, sir, to adjust the sanctions at this point?

SG:Well, let me say that there is quite a bit of reflection going on here in the building and around the capitals of the world. For a long time the attitude had been: this is our policy, this is the way we do things. But I think recently we have put on the table that critical question of what should we be doing and I hope out of this review and search will emerge a constructive way forward. And I hope the Iraqis on their side have been doing a similar reflection and a similar review because obviously the members of the council are not satisfied with its performance with regard to Security Council resolutions and, of course, we all know the public discussions on the impact of the sanctions on the Iraqi population, and I hope that out of all these discussions and reflections something meaningful will come out.

Q: Do you hope that from these two days of talks they'll schedule further talks to make this the start of an ongoing process?

SG: I will not exclude that. As I said I don't think that we'll be able to resolve all the issues in the two days ahead, and so I will not exclude the fact that we may have to come back together.

Q: Since Doha -- this is where you agreed with the Iraqi delegation that you will have this meeting here - since then, what elements have been introduced to your talks with the Iraqis that will affect the way you are thinking and what will you ask them to do first at this point if there is to be building of confidence?

SG: I think I have already answered the first part of your question by indicating that in my judgment there's quite a lot of reflection and reviews going on as to what should be done, and that in itself is an important and healthy shift. As to what I will tell them I will expect out of the talks, I would suggest we come back to that at the end of the talks because I would want to talk to them directly, and do what I have described as a make-a-point diplomacy.

Q: No, I meant developments on the ground since Doha?

SG: I think that is what I indicated: there have been developments, there have been movements in capitals as to their own thinking, their own approach. The Council has been busy since there is a new U.S. administration that is also reviewing the situation, so there are lots of movements that can affect where we go.

Q: Sir, on the disarmament front, you've spoken about sanctions, it's been ten years since their weapons' inspections began - today Kuwait is celebrating their liberation, are you prepared to say that Iraq has cooperated to a certain degree? That they really have come a long way in cooperating, in getting rid of their weapons of mass destruction - that just a little extra remains? What's your assessment of where things stand on the disarmament?

SG: That is a judgment that has to be made by the inspectors. I think even UNSCOM indicated progress in certain areas, in the missile area - they indicated in the atomic area there had been considerable progress, they indicated there was some considerable work to be done on biological and chemical weapons. So they even admitted there had been some progress. Whether Iraq has fully complied with Security Council requirements is not a judgment that is left to me, it's a judgment that the inspectors will affirm or determine once they've been able to get back into Iraq but there's no doubt that some progress was made over the years when the inspections were going on.

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Remarks upon arrival at UNHQ, 20 February 2001 (unofficial transcript)

SG: Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen. I hope you all had a good long weekend. Who is going to ask the first question?

Q: Do you have anything to say about Iraq? Do you think these raids are going to complicate your mission with the delegation that is coming?

SG: Let me say that I was not consulted or informed before the air action. It was immediately after the air action that the US authorities called to explain to me that they saw this as routine, not escalation, not a qualitative difference in their activities in Iraq and that it was one action and it was not to continue. Obviously, the timing is a bit awkward for the talks that I am going to have on the 26th , but the Iraqis have confirmed that they are coming. So we will be able to pursue our attempts to break the impass and pull them in to cooperate with the UN.

Q: How optimistic are you, Mr. Annan?

SG: Ask me that question after my first round with the Iraqi authorities. We will know at the end of the talks. You have to have some hope, otherwise I wouldn't be getting into this exercise. It may take some time. I don't think we are going to have a miraculous breakthrough, but at least it is a beginning. It's a beginning.

Q: Is there any intention to condemn the killing of many Iraqis because of the aggression?

SG: I have been in touch with the President of the Security Council. The Council is seized of the matter. And as I said I have also spoken to the American Ambassador. And of course we are all coming back from a long weekend, and we will know this morning what action, if any, the Security Council is going to take.