Secretary-General's press conference with Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (unofficial transcript)-revised

PM (translated from the Italian): Good afternoon. I am pleased to welcome today the Secretary-General of the United Nations, with whom I have been able to discuss the problems that are currently afflicting the entire world, naturally the most important being those concerning Iraq and Saddam Hussein, and everyone's desire to find a solution that is one of peace. I believe it is important to underline this. No one thinks that hope should be forgotten. Instead we are all convinced, as we were in yesterday evening's meeting of the European Council, that there is still a way to work towards a peaceful solution and for a peaceful way for Iraq to comply with resolution 1441 of the Security Council.

I would also add my feeling of admiration for the Secretary-General, who honours me with his friendship, and also gratefulness for what he did yesterday. He spoke at the European Council, and his speech was extremely useful -- an important contribution to Europe's effort at unity, which was transformed into a joint declaration.

SG: Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister. And let me thank you for receiving me once again here. It's always a pleasure for me to come to Italy to have this kind of discussion. We've had a very fruitful discussion, and as you heard from the Prime Minister, we did focus on Iraq. And yesterday, I was privileged to join the European Heads of State Summit in Brussels.

As the Prime Minster said, the Summit came up with a very good communiqué, a communiqué that made clear what the European position is, including the fact that Iraq must disarm and act immediately and work proactively with the inspectors to disarm. But as he has also repeated, we all felt that war is not inevitable and we should press our efforts to find a peaceful solution. But that also demands that Iraq meets its obligation and fulfills the requirements imposed on it by the Security Council.

Europe has a key role to play in this crisis, not just on the political and other aspects but also on the possible humanitarian consequences of the conflict. And yesterday, last night, I had the opportunity to brief them on our own contingency planning—on the needs of the population, during and immediately after the war, the possible refugee flows, the internally displaced, the vulnerable children and the needs that we will require, the money we will require, to look after their needs. And here I expect Europe to play a key role.

And let me conclude by telling my friend Silvio and the European leaders that I share their hope that we can find a peaceful solution.

Q (translated from the Italian): You will meet with His Holiness the Pope this afternoon. What are your expectations from this meeting?

SG: It is difficult to talk about a meeting which hasn't taken place yet, but let me say that I would obviously expect to talk to him about Iraq. His envoy Cardinal Etchegaray, whom he sent to Iraq, has just got back and I hope they'll be able to brief me on their findings and share with me their own impressions on the situation.

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, you mentioned in your comments yesterday in Brussels that inspections can't go on forever and that at some point the Security Council might have to face the grim choice of deciding whether Iraq is in material breach. How long do you think is politically realistic for inspections to continue and do you support some kind of a time frame or time line that maps out what Iraq must accomplish by a certain date as has been suggested by Britain?

SG: I think on the question of how long the inspections go on, it is an issue the Council will have to tackle. As it stands now, there is no time limit in these resolutions. The inspectors are carrying on their work, but of course the debate going on in the Council, where some members have indicated that this has gone on long enough and others believe that it should continue, is how long do we go on? There are some who believe that as long as the inspectors are doing reasonable work and there are those who believe that whatever the inspectors do they may not be able to get full cooperation of the Iraqis.

As far as the inspectors are concerned, they're carrying on with their work until the Council decides otherwise. If the Council were to decide that there had been a material breach and that serious consequences were to follow and to determine that, the inspectors may have to suspend or stop their work. Until that judgment is made, they will have to go on. And I would hesitate to give you in terms of months or weeks how much time they need. That is a judgment for the Council. And I think I've been around long enough not to usurp their responsibilities and their authority.