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Blair: New UN resolution needed
03/10/2002 11:52 - (SA)
London - British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday that weapons inspectors should not return to Iraq until a tougher UN resolution had been passed.
Asked on BBC radio whether a resolution should be passed before arms inspections are resumed, Blair said: "I think it is necessary to have a tougher resolution, yes, because what is absolutely clear is that the previous inspection regime wasn't tough enough to get the job done.
"A new resolution is absolutely essential," he said.
Blair urged the international community to present a united front on Iraq, avoiding "mixed signals" which he said could increase the likelihood of military action.
The United States and its staunch ally Britain are pressing ahead at the United Nations Security Council for a tough new resolution including an explicit threat of military action if Iraqi President Saddam Hussein limits inspections on the ground.
France, a council member with veto power, has threatened to push its own resolution on Iraq if Washington introduces its current proposals without any compromise, diplomats said.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov signaled a slight shift in Moscow's position, saying that he would consider backing new UN resolutions if arms inspectors needed them.
Military conflict not invetible
Blair said military conflict against Saddam and his regime was not inevitable but stressed that the stronger and more united the message sent by the international community, the less likely it was that a strike would be needed.
"Is military conflict inevitable? No, it's not inevitable," he said. "But... the only way to avoid military action is for him (Saddam) to comply with the international community's demands.
"If we appear to give some mixed messages from the international community, if we don't appear to be very strong in determination, then he will misread the signals as he has done before and then we will probably end up being more likely to be in a position of taking military action."
US President George W Bush warned on Wednesday that if Saddam did not disarm and "persists in his defiance, the use of force may become unavoidable".
Iraq has said it will allow inspectors, who left in 1998, back into the country, but it has indicated it wants some limits on their work. Bush says that is not acceptable.
Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix reports to the Security Council on Thursday after reaching agreement with Iraq that arms inspectors would be allowed back in.
Blix had intended to send some advance teams to Iraq in about two weeks but the United States is expected to tell him to hold off until a new UN resolution is adopted.
Blair said he was confident that the UN would agree with the stance of London and Washington and pass a new resolution.
"This has got a history of 10 years - 10 years of Saddam playing about, obstructing the weapons inspectors, not telling the truth about the weapons," he said. "So I think it's necessary to have a new resolution and I believe that we will have one."
- Reuters
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