The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
delay to a
comprehensive review of the implementation of its resolutions as
soon as the
restrictions
imposed … on 5 August were lifted”.
595.
Mr Danilo
Türk, Slovenian Permanent Representative to the UN, described
Iraq’s
reaction as
“really astonishing”:
“While the
Council was patiently moving towards meeting Iraqi concerns, Iraq
chose
to move in
the opposite direction. It is difficult to understand the motives
for this
reaction.
It is also difficult to see how this grave challenge to the
Council’s authority
can result
in anything other than a serious aggravation of the
situation.”
596.
Mr Lavrov
stated that Iraq’s decision had “jeopardised the search of recent
months
for a
solution to the Iraqi problem” and ran “counter to the agreements”
reached with
Mr Annan
that Baghdad “would rescind its decision of 5 August and that
the Security
Council
would conduct a comprehensive review”, which had “opened the way to
the
lifting of
sanctions on Iraq”.
“The way to
overcome this new crisis lies … exclusively in political and
diplomatic
efforts
alongside the active role of the Secretary-General. Any attempt to
resolve the
problem by
force would have highly unpredictable and dangerous
consequences,
both for
the United Nations ability to continue to monitor proscribed
military activity
in Iraq
and for peace and stability in the region and in the Middle East as
a whole.
“We are
pleased to note that the draft resolution … seeks precisely a
political
solution …
and contains no language that could be arbitrarily interpreted as
some
kind of
permission to use force …
“Without in
any way attempting to justify Iraq’s actions, I wish to stress
the
exceptional
importance of total clarity with regard to the Security Council’s
intentions
to
implement its own resolutions. The draft resolution clearly
reaffirms the Council’s
intention
to take a decision on the current sanctions in accordance with the
relevant
provisions
of resolution 687 (1991).”
598.
Mr Antonio
Monteiro, Portugese Permanent Representative to the UN, stated
that
Iraq’s
decision had been greeted with “dismay and
incomprehension”.
599.
Mr Dahlgren
stated that it was Sweden’s “sincere hope” that Baghdad would
not
miss the
“exit sign … for the route out of sanctions”. He added that the
final paragraph
of the
resolution reflected the “very important principle”
that:
“The
Security Council’s primary responsibility for the maintenance of
international
peace and
security … must not be circumvented. We see this paragraph as
an
expression
of the desire of members to safeguard that
responsibility.”
600.
Mr Amorim
stated that Mr Annan’s “possible concept of a comprehensive
review”
constituted
a “thoughtful and balanced approach which could allow for progress”
and
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