The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
“I
suggested a further session the following day to get more
considered reactions.”
374.
Sir Jeremy
reported that the points made by the representatives of the
other
Permanent
Members of the Council were:
•
Mr Sergei
Lavrov, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN, said
that
“Russia had
not changed its position: they could not accept
automaticity
or
ultimata” and the “10-day deadline was too short”. He “questioned
how
the UK’s
tasks” related to the “key remaining disarmament tasks and
the
work
programme” required by resolution 1284 which would be issued
the
following week.
•
Ambassador
Negroponte “said it was clear the UK was going the extra
mile
to find a
basis for an agreed approach. The proposal should be
seriously
considered
especially if it strengthened the prospects for Council
unity.”
•
Mr Wang
Yingfan, Chinese Permanent Representative to the UN, “felt
confused”.
Would the
UK approach “wipe the slate – and material breach – clean for
Iraq?”
He “doubted
the timeline was feasible”.
•
Mr Jean-Marc
de La Sablière, French Permanent Representative to the
UN, “said
France had always been interested in an approach based
on
benchmarks
– but this had to be in the context of the work programme
and
key
remaining tasks” required by resolution 1284. “Benchmarks also
had
to be
completely separate from any ultimatum.” He “thought we could
have
disarmament
in a limited time without inspections” but “the UK approach
did
not allow”
Council unity to be preserved.
375.
Points raised
by the representatives of other members of the Council
included:
•
Mr Gunter
Pleuger, German Permanent Representative to the UN, “pleaded
for
time to
discuss the proposal in detail”, and asked about the status of the
paper,
what would
be the purpose of the draft resolution without OP3 and whether
it
“made sense
to set some tasks now when the 1284 key remaining tasks
would
be issued
soon and subsume them”.
•
Mr Aguilar
Zinser, Mexican Permanent Representative to the UN,
was
“effusive”
about the initiative. He said that the Council “would have to
devote
time to
studying the proposal”. He questioned the “relationship with the
1284
tasks; the
timeframe … proposed; the role of UNMOVIC and IAEA in
verifying
compliance;
whether the tests would be collectively assessed; the
connection
with the
resolution; and whether the use of force would be conditioned”. He
had
been asked
to set out his Government’s reservations. “They still did not see
a
way out of
the difficulties in the Council nor elements allowing consensus
and
understanding.
They still did not have a final position on the draft
resolution.”
•
Mr Mamady
Traoré, Guinean Permanent Representative to the UN and
President
of the Council, was “happy” that the UK “had made this attempt
to
reach
consensus”.
464