Secretary-General's press encounter upon arrival at UNHQ (unofficial transcript)

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, good morning Sir. First of all, I just wanted to ask you about the Spanish Prime Minister-elect. He has been saying that unless there is a new Security Council resolution after sovereignty is handed back over to the Iraqis, he will pull out Spanish troops. Do you have any worries in that regard, and do you think another resolution is [inaudible] ?

SG: I think it is not excluded that there will be another resolution. There have been discussions with [Security] Council members about a Council resolution that will not only reaffirm the mandate of the UN team, if the circumstances permit for us to go back, but it would also deal with the issue of security and possibly a multinational force.

Q: Sir, we are coming up to the one-year anniversary of the outbreak of war in Iraq. Can you just give us your thoughts on [inaudible]?

SG: I think we are all faced with a very difficult situation in Iraq, that we are doing our best to stabilize and to work with the people of Iraq to bring stability and to ensure that in time there will be a democratically elected government. But we do have major hurdles ahead of us. Security is still a problem. And I think it is going to require concerted international efforts; countries coming together and pooling their efforts to make this possible in Iraq. I think we need to work together for the sake of stability, for the sake of peace, and for the Iraqi people.

Q: Sir, are you not concerned by the way the Security Council acted very rushed last week in adopting the resolution specifically singling out ETA when the investigation really had not run its course?

SG: I think the Council members themselves have felt uneasy about that, and the Spanish government gave them a letter explaining that it acted in good faith, and at the time it informed the Council that ETA was responsible they genuinely thought so. And I think there is a lesson here for everybody, including the Council members.

Q: Sir, on the Middle East, if I could. How concerned are you that the cancellation of the prospective round of talks between the two Prime Ministers is a negative signal to the ongoing attempt to settle the crisis. And beyond that if I could, back on Iraq, Dr. [Hans] Blix in his book and in various appearances, said that his gut said up until late in the game last year, maybe as late as January-February, that he believed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. I wonder what your gut was telling you at the same time?

SG: Let me start with your second question. We were all relying on the inspectors to tell us about their findings, and at that point the inspectors had not found any weapons of mass destruction, but you will recall that Blix has himself said, absence or evidence of possession does not mean it doesn't exist. And so I was relying on the inspectors, and quite honestly at that point I didn't know whether they had it or did not have it.

On the Middle East, let me say that I am disappointed because quite a lot of us have been waiting for a long time for the two Prime Ministers to meet and begin to get the process back on track. And so it is with disappointment that I learned of the news. But I hope this does not mean that talks are put off forever, and that they will find a way to get back to the table as soon as possible.

Q: Has terrorism affected an election in Spain –what are the concerns for the future on that? And some countries, on a different issue, have disagreed with your ruling on same sex benefits for certain UN employees and staffers. I know you are going to answer questions, but how do you see that playing out?

SG: Let me say that I think the events in Spain need to be looked at very critically. Obviously there were many factors –one was the question of who did it, and whether the public felt they got a full, clear picture from the Government of what was going on. There was a question of the large number of the population having been opposed to the war, being reminded of the war by the claims made by the terrorists who committed the attack. So there were lots of things at play. But I think what is important, and what this underscores, is that we need international cooperation –working across borders –to defeat and contain terrorism. We need to work together, share information, intelligence, work diplomatically and politically to contain terrorism. So I am a bit careful as to what conclusions I should draw from the Madrid bombs.

On the other question, I think I have tried to interpret our rules and regulations fairly. We are guided by national laws and I think it is a fair interpretation, so I will wait to see what the General Assembly decides.

Q: How close are you to making a determination on the Iraqi accountability report, and beyond that, how concerned are you about the various allegations that are now snowballing against the Oil for Food programme?

SG: On the accountability thing, we will take our decisions when we are ready. It is being looked at very carefully, and we will take decisions when we are ready.

On the Oil for Food, OIOS [Office for Internal Oversight Services] has already begun its investigations, is in touch with the Iraqi Governing Council and the CPA for additional information, so we are exploring. He [Dileep Nair, head of OIOS] has started the investigation to see how far he can go and what other measures need to be taken; whether he has the capacity or he needs to bring in additional people to do [interrupted]

Q: Sir, in the press recently there have been some reports that members of the Iraqi Governing Council aren't particularly thrilled with the possibility of a UN role in the transition government. Do you think that the UN has a credibility problem in Iraq, and what do you think would be a solution?

SG: I don't think it is so much a credibility problem for the UN as internal politics in Iraq. We sent a team that did a good report which we gave to the Iraqis and they had to digest it and then come back to us with their reaction to the report. I have made it clear that we are prepared to go back and assist should they want us to do so, and I am waiting for them to let us know.

Q: Do you think that time might be running out [inaudible on Iraq]?

SG: I don't think time is running out for us. I mean, the deadline is 30 June, and there is still time for them to get us involved. If they need our help, we are ready. But we are waiting for a signal from them.

Q: Sir, on the issue of spying. You are meeting a British official today. Is that issue likely to come up?

SG: It is not high on the agenda.

Q: On Mr. Brahimi, what will you tell him, is he going back?

SG: Well, as I have indicated, we are ready to go back. We are waiting for the signal and the team will go back. It is not excluded.