Iraq: US inspection demands beyond agreed limits
Iraq, International, 11/24/1997

UN weapon inspection teams were able to conduct their work without any problems and with the full cooperation of the Iraqi officials. However, the US seems to be gradually adding demands that Iraq has said are beyond the agreements between Iraq and UN inspection teams and stated UN Security Council resolutions.

US President Bill Clinton commented, "The crisis is not over." And US Secretary of Defense William Cohen stated that the Iraqis must make 63 sites that are labeled off limits available for inspection.

To that Iraqi Foreign Minister Muhammad Said al-Sahhaf replied that if the US insists on pushing for measures beyond the agreements and resolutions and reach into sites that are of Iraqi national security and sovereignty concerns, then "In a month, we could be back into the same situation" that was just resolved.

Iraqi officials are insisting that the Security Council must live up to the resolutions it passed if Iraq does the same.

In a statement the Russian ambassador to the UN said, "We are committed to the full implementation to UN Security Council resolutions, including the lifting of the oil embargo as the resolution states."

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz expressed optimism while on a visit to Syria over the weekend: "I believe that the issue of Iraq has become more clear to the world than it was before the recent crisis. Certainly when the issue becomes clear, the opportunities to support our legitimate demands of lifting the blockade are now better than they were a few weeks ago."

Previous Stories:
  Iraqi situation calm for now   (11/21/1997)
  Turkish ambassador denies Israeli forces in north Iraq   (11/21/1997)
  Canadian companies sign contracts with Iraq   (11/19/1997)

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