SECRETARY-GENERAL'S ACTIVITIES IN FRANCE AND IRAQ 19-23 FEBRUARY
Press Release
SG/T/2117
SECRETARY-GENERAL'S ACTIVITIES IN FRANCE AND IRAQ 19-23 FEBRUARY
19980306 (Received from the Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General.)Secretary-General Kofi Annan departed New York for Iraq on Thursday, 19 February, on a mission to try to reach agreement with the Iraqi Government on a diplomatic solution to the weapons inspections stand-off.
The Secretary-General met with the press upon arrival for a brief stopover in Paris. He expressed the hope that "the Iraqi leaders will understand and will work with me to solve this crisis in a peaceful way". He added that "the Iraqis themselves have promised to work in a serious and constructive manner".
He met, at 6:45 p.m., with French President Jacques Chirac, who stressed his support for Mr. Annan's visit to Iraq. In a meeting with the press President Chirac called on Iraq "to accept the proposals it will receive from the United Nations Secretary-General because these are the proposals of the entire international community".
At midnight, the Secretary-General met with Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan. They discussed approaches to finding a political solution to the Iraqi crisis.
The Secretary-General then had a brief meeting with the press. When asked whether he was going to deliver an ultimatum, he answered "no". He said that he thought he had everything he needed to hold a discussion with President Saddam Hussein, and that he was optimistic.
The Secretary-General and his party flew to Iraq on Friday, 20 February, on an aeroplane provided by the French Government. He was welcomed at Saddam Hussein International Airport by Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz. In talking to the media at the airport, the Secretary-General described his mission as "a sacred duty ... in search for a peaceful solution". He said that "as Secretary-General, I have an obligation, a juridical and moral obligation, to try and reduce international tensions wherever I can".
That evening the Secretary-General had an unscheduled, one-on-one meeting with Mr. Aziz for one hour at the Foreign Ministry. At 10 p.m., the Head of the Technical Team, Staffan de Mistura, answered questions on the technicalities of their visit at a press conference in the Babylon Hotel. The
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Secretary-General's Spokesman, Fred Eckhard, joined Mr. de Mistura at the briefing to outline Mr. Annan's programme for Saturday, 21 February.
During that day, the Secretary-General held intensive discussions beginning at 9 a.m., when he met with Viktor Posuvalyuk, Special Envoy and Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation; and with Ambassador Nikolai Kartouzov.
At 10 a.m., the Secretary-General went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he had a one-and-a-half hour one-on-one meeting with Mr. Aziz.
From 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., the Iraqi and United Nations delegations met for a working session. The two sides exchanged views in a constructive manner.
At 3 p.m., the Secretary-General met with Ambassador Yves Augin de la Messuziere of France.
At 4 p.m., he received Ambassador Isselmou Ould El-Mounir of Mauritania and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, as well as all other members of the diplomatic corps in Baghdad, and heads of United Nations agencies -- a total of about 50 people.
At 6 p.m., the Secretary-General met with Mr. Aziz for three hours. The Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, and the Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, occasionally joined these discussions. The meeting adjourned for a dinner break at 9:15 p.m. and resumed at 10:45 p.m. Talks continued until 2 a.m. At this point, they were negotiating the text of an agreement, and a number of issues remained outstanding.
On Sunday, 22 February, the Secretary-General returned to the Foreign Ministry for talks with Mr. Aziz, and then met for three hours with President Saddam Hussein at the Republican Palace in Baghdad. Following that meeting the Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Mr. Eckhard, stated that the Secretary-General believed that he was on the verge of a breakthrough.
The Secretary-General met again with Mr. Aziz at 7 p.m., to continue the talks.
At 10:45 p.m. that evening, it was announced that an agreement had been reached; the text of the agreement which was signed at the Foreign Ministry on Monday, 23 February, at 10:15 a.m. That agreement fulfils the principal objectives the Secretary-General had from the outset: ensuring respect for Security Council resolutions governing United Nations inspections in Iraq, and preserving the integrity of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) charged with overseeing the disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
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At a press conference at the Information Ministry at 10:30 a.m., the Secretary-General thanked governments around the world who had contributed to the success of the negotiations in Iraq. He thanked individuals who had wished the delegations well and those who had prayed for a diplomatic solution, saying "you can never underestimate the power of prayer".
The Secretary-General was then hosted at a brunch by Mr. Aziz at the Radwaniyah presidential site, starting at 11:30 a.m. At 2 p.m., the Secretary-General departed Baghdad. At a refuelling stop in Amman, Jordan, he was met by Foreign Minister Fayez Tarawneh and Crown Prince Hassan. At a stopover in Paris, he attended an informal dinner hosted at the Elysee Palace by President Jacques Chirac.
He arrived in New York on Tuesday, 24 February, where he was greeted at the Secretariat by Rosemarie Waters, President of the Staff Union, and hundreds of cheering staff members. He immediately went to brief the Security Council on the Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations and Iraq.
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