Annan denies US media reports on UNSCOM spying

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan released a statement yesterday through his spokesman, Fred Eckhard, replying to US media reports that he believed that UNSCOM was spying for the US in Iraq, saying, "We not only have no convincing evidence of these allegations; we have no evidence of any kind."

The reports, which were also denied by UNSCOM chief Richard Butler yesterday, also alleged that Annan was pressuring Butler to resign. "This is not so," Annan's statement said, adding that the issue is Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

"The Secretary-General has no operational oversight responsibility for the Special Commission -- that is the Security Council's job, because UNSCOM is a subsidiary body of the Council. He, therefore, has little detailed information on day-to-day operations," Annan stated.

The statement said that Annan "rejects the characterization of his state of mind attributed to so-called "confidants," such as that he is convinced of things, aware of facts, and so on."

Iraq has often accused UNSCOM of spying.