US accuses Iraq of lying, no announcements on peace initiative

US State Department Spokesman James Rubin said the US is no closer to making a public announcement of its peace initiative than it was two weeks ago, saying "Secretary Albright has made clear... that if she has something to say on the Middle East peace process publicly with respect to how it's going, and what the parties' views are, and their reaction to our ideas, she will do so."

Rubin also addressed the issue of a recent UN report critical of Iraq, saying, "With regard to the six month report that is now circulating in New York, what this latest report from the UN indicates is, there is a compelling case that Iraq has not complied with UN Security Council resolutions in any area of substance."

He called the report's focus on Iraq's lack of compliance, "clear and very disturbing evidence that Iraq has failed to cooperate" with UN resolutions regarding weapons inspections.

Rubin said, "they continue to lie and hide the truth regarding the existence of long-range ballistic missiles, VX and serin chemical weapons and anthrax and other biological weapons," and said that the report "shows how far away they are from the time when the UN could declare them in compliance."

Iraqi Foreign Minister Muhammad Saeed Sahaf has been heavily critical of UNSCOM chairman Richard Butler's negative report, calling it groundless.