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Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I suspect you are all here to listen to [Messrs. Hans] Blix and [Mohamed] ElBaradei. They will be giving their report today. And I think we are all lucky to have two able leaders leading the inspection teams, Blix and ElBaradei, who are determined to do a professional job. They are independent-minded and last week they had the chance to go to Iraq and tell the Iraqis what they expect of them and have asked them what to do. They expect a more pro-active engagement, and I hope the Iraqis will do what the inspectors have asked them to do. It's not just the inspectors, but the leaders in the region have also come together, all the neighbours, asking them to work with the inspectors and disarm. And of course, today we will hear from the inspectors what they have to report to the [Security] Council.
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, do you believe that the inspectors should be given more time to do their job? And do you feel that if the United States goes it alone with a US-led coalition, as it says it will if necessary, that this would hurt the United Nations, the Security Council and multilateralism?
SG: I think the inspectors will report to the Council what they have achieved, the state of their work and what more needs to be done for them to come to certain conclusions. And they will be able to give the facts to the Council and the Council will have to determine how to proceed next. But I think if they do need time, they should be given the time to do their work and all of us, the Council when they sent them, must have realized that time will be necessary – a reasonable amount of time. I'm not saying forever, but they do need time to get the work done. And I suspect the Council will allow for that time to be done. The Council has acted unanimously on this issue. It spoke with one voice in Resolution 1441, and I think the unity of the Council and the international community working together is extremely important. And I'm sure all countries will do whatever they can to keep that unity.
Q: What impact do the US threats have, Sir, on the process? And do you fear that the US acting alone, as Edie has asked, will destroy basically the multilateral approach that the UN has forged with the …?
SG: I hope, as I have said, that this unity will be maintained. We have, in my own speech to the General Assembly on the 12th of September, I stressed the need for multilateralism, the need for Council action, the need for Council legitimacy, and that position has not changed. I really hope that Iraq will comply and we will be able to get on and disarm Iraq peacefully. I have not given up on peace and you shouldn't either.
Thank you. 