PARIS,
August 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - French President Jacques
Chirac Thursday, August 29, 2002, condemned any unilateral U.S.
military strikes against Iraq, saying such action could only be
decided by the United Nations if Baghdad refused the unconditional
return of arms inspectors.
"We
are seeing attempts to legitimize the unilateral and preventive use of
force," Chirac told a meeting of French ambassadors. "This
is worrying," reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"If
Baghdad insists on refusing to allow the unconditional return of
inspectors, it would be up to the Security Council alone to decide
what measures to take," Chirac added.
The
UN inspectors were pulled out of Iraq in December 1998 on the eve of
British and U.S. bombing raids on Baghdad.
France,
one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, was part of
the U.S.-led coalition which ousted Iraqi troops from Kuwait in the
1991 Gulf War.
Chirac
said the unilateral use of force was "against France's vision of
collective security, of cooperation between states and respect for the
law and authority of the Security Council."
Meanwhile,
Key U.S. ally Britain Thursday upped the pressure on Washington over a
possible strike on Iraq, saying it was open to setting Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein a deadline for complying with UN weapons inspections.
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British Foreign Secretary Jack
Straw
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British
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the ball was "back in Saddam
Hussein's court" to readmit weapons inspectors, in an interview
with the Financial Times.
"It's
certainly the case that the reintroduction of weapons inspectors per
se would provide no assurance of itself that there would be
compliance. But it's a first step on the way to ensuring
compliance," Straw said.
However,
U.S. officials reacted coolly to the idea, raising doubts whether UN
arms inspectors would even be able to do their job.
"I
don't suppose we would object to a deadline, but simply getting
inspectors back into Iraq is not the end game here," said one
senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"First,
they have to be able to do their jobs with full access and, second, we
want to see disarmament under the UN resolutions," the official
said.
A
second official agreed and said the return of inspectors alone was
"almost irrelevant" to U.S. policy.
"Saddam
has shown over and over again that he's not interested in complying
with the UN resolutions and that he's ready, willing and able to use
weapons that he isn't supposed to have," the official said.
"That is the problem."
