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Ivanov
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UNITED
NATIONS, November 1 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Russia
said Friday, November 1, the U.N. Security Council was nearing
agreement on terms for resuming weapons inspections in Iraq, as U.N.
sources announced that inspectors will travel to Cyprus this weekend
to set up a staging post for their operations in Iraq.
In
one of the most positive statements by Russian officials on the
negotiations at the United Nations in New York over the past week,
Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Friday "we have come close on a
whole range of issues."
"We
are trying to reach a resolution that, in case there is a problem with
the work of inspectors, in case Iraq breaches (the inspections
program) ... that this question is returned to the Security
Council" so it can debate the use of force, he said in televised
remarks.
"And
only the Security Council, after carefully examining this question,
can make a decision," Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted him as
saying.
"That
is how we should act -- in accordance to U.N. statutes, which among
other things, foresee the use of force."
His
comments, made during a Moscow ceremony marking the 200th anniversary
of the Russian foreign ministry, came as Washington said it expected
to see a tough new U.N. resolution approved within the coming week.
Some
"serious differences" over the proposed U.N. resolution
still remain, said Ivanov.
Moscow's
differences with Washington and London remain over "the possible
consequences for Iraq in case U.N. weapons inspectors come across
problems during their inspections," said Ivanov.
Russia
is one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council that
wield veto power, along with the United States, Britain, France and
China.
Ivanov
stressed Russia "is categorically against any (U.N. resolution)
that allow some to unilaterally, and automatically, use force."
A
U.S. draft would order Iraq to let inspections begin within 45 days
and give the inspectors wider powers than before, but Russian
officials have said these were "unrealistic".
The
U.S. proposal would also declare Iraq "in material breach"
of its obligations under U.N. Security Council Resolution 687,
defining the terms of the February 1991 ceasefire which ended the Gulf
War.
But
France and Russia are opposing wording containing "hidden
triggers" for the automatic use of military force against Iraq.
And
they want it clear that "serious consequences" would follow
future violations of Iraq's obligations and not punish any past
breaches.
U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke Thursday, October 31, with his
French and Russian counterparts, Ivanov and Dominique de Villepin, in
an effort to produce a compromise.
France
and Russia have adopted a common stance, arguing the U.N. resolution
should not contain an automatic threat of force.
This,
they say, should only be ratified in a later resolution if Iraq blocks
international weapons inspections.
Meanwhile
China still refuses to specify what action it supports beyond the
return of U.N. weapons inspectors, although most diplomatic analysts
agree it will abstain from voting.
A
British official said Thursday a compromise warning Iraq of
"serious consequences" -- diplomatic language for military
action -- could be ready for adoption by the U.N. next week.
Both
the United States and Britain -- but not Russia -- accuse Iraq of
developing chemical and biological weapons and seeking to obtain
nuclear weapons as well.
Iraq
denies the charges.
The
Cyprus base, where inspectors can group to receive instructions and
U.N. identity cards before flying to Iraq, will be in the southern
port city of Larnaca, site of Cyprus international airport.
"It
will be a fairly small field office," the source said.
Most
of the inspectors charged with supervising the elimination of Iraq's
alleged weapons of mass destruction will be on short-term contracts to
the U.N. and have to take leave from jobs elsewhere.
An
administrative officer and a technical adviser to Hans Blix, chairman
of the United Nations Monitoring Verification and Inspection
Commission (UNMOVIC), will go to Cyprus to set up the office, the
source said.
The
U.N. Security Council is expected to vote late next week on a U.S.
draft resolution to strengthen the mandate of UNMOVIC and the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and to define a timeline for
resuming inspections.
Blix
has said an advance team could arrive in Baghdad between seven and 10
days after a resolution is adopted.
That
schedule could be delayed by a week if the United States insists on
retaining language in the draft which would give Iraq seven days to
accept the terms of the resolution.
The
job of the advance team, which would probably include Blix and IAEA
director general Mohammed ElBarade, would be to reopen and re-equip
offices used in Iraq by the former inspectorate, the U.N. Special
Commission (UNSCOM).
The
government of Cyprus gave its approval to set up the staging post on
October 23.
Larnaca
is about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Baghdad, approximately the
same distance as Bahrain, where UNSCOM had its base.
