1.1 | UK
Iraq strategy 1990 to 2000
report made
clear that there was much to be done, “especially” on chemical
and
biological
weapons.
409.
There had been
a lot of “special pleading from Iraq on the damage caused by
six
and a half
years of sanctions” but it was:
“… clear
that the humanitarian interests of the Iraqi people and their
welfare have
been
subordinated to the misguided policies of the leadership and that
it is these
policies
which are the fundamental problem.”
410.
Mr Lavrov
stated that Russia had been “working intensively” with
others
to “de‑escalate
the situation”, but had failed to achieve the desired results.
The
Security Council
had “no other way out than to adopt concrete measures on
the
basis of the
consensus … established in June … in resolution 1115”.
411.
But Russia was
“convinced” that any “complications” should be:
“… resolved
exclusively by political means and strictly within the framework of
the
relevant
resolutions of the Security Council. Any other approaches,
particularly
actions
involving force or the threat of the use of force, could nullify
all our
achievements
so far in reaching a post-crisis settlement in the Persian Gulf and
take
us all a
long way back from the goal, already coming within our reach, of
eliminating
the threat
to peace and security in that region.”
412.
Mr Lavrov
added that the resolution ruled out “the possibility of using the
authority
of the
Security Council and the United Nations to justify any attempts to
use force”.
413.
Mr Lavrov
concluded that inspections had:
“…
confirmed that Iraq has no proscribed activities going on involving
nuclear
weapons,
and the facilities and dual-use equipment are being reliably
monitored. In
this
connection, the nuclear dossier can be deemed to be closed. The
balance sheet
is
virtually completed on proscribed missiles. All capacity and
components for the
production
of chemical weapons have been eliminated.
“Such
serious results cannot pass by without adequate evaluation by the
Security
Council. We
intend to revert to this question immediately after the current
crisis
situation
around Iraq has been resolved.”
414.
Mr Qin
Huasun stated that China had called on Iraq to resume co-operation
with
the United
Nations but had “always been of the view that Iraq’s sovereignty,
territorial
integrity
and legitimate concerns for its own security should be respected”.
He observed
that the
“causes of the current crisis” were “multifaceted and complex”:
“three feet of ice
could not
have accumulated as a result of one day’s cold
weather”.
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