(14 Aug 1998) English/Nat

An envoy of United Nations chief Kofi Annan has urged the Iraqi leadership to cooperate with arms monitors in their inspection of banned weapons sites.

Prakash Shah met for more than an hour on Thursday night with Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz in a bid to defuse the latest crisis over weapons inspections.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein announced on August 5 that Iraq would no longer cooperate with the United Nations Special Commission, which is charged with ensuring that Iraq eliminates its biological and chemical weapons and long-range missiles.

Prakash Shah arrived at a meeting in Baghdad with Iraq's deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz on Thursday carrying a message from United Nations head Kofi Annan.

It was thought the note urged Iraq to cooperate with weapons inspectors.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I have brought back a message from the Secretary General. I expect to meet the Deputy Prime Minister later tonight and I will be giving that message to the Deputy Prime Minister."
SUPER CAPTION: Prakash Shah, Kofi Annan's representative in Iraq

U-N chief weapons inspector Richard Butler has complained that Iraqi restrictions on arms inspectors are making it impossible to ensure that the country's not reviving its weapons programs.

His comments came after an announcement earlier this month by Saddam Hussein that Iraq would no longer cooperate with the United Nations Special Commission.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"There is a unanimous view in the council that Iraq should continue its cooperation with the UN and UNSCOM and this was this message that the Secretary General also wanted to reinforce that the council's resolutions on the matter are quite clear and Iraq's obligations to comply with them were reaffirmed in the MOU which the Secretary General had signed with the Iraqi authorities on 23 of February."
SUPER CAPTION: Prakash Shah, Kofi Annan's representative in Iraq

Despite the strained nature of Thursday's meeting, Aziz and the U-N envoy agreed to continue talks.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I have conveyed to the Iraqi authorities the strong views both of the Security Council and the Secretary General which is available to them but as I said, reinforced by the Secretary General in the course of discussions it was agreed that the dialogue will continue. So I think this is the best description I can give at this moment of the outcome of the meeting."
SUPER CAPTION: Prakash Shah, Kofi Annan's representative in Iraq

Prakash said Aziz wanted to convey the Iraqi point of view and Iraqi concerns of continued United Nations sanctions.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I will be available here as long as it is necessary for the Iraqi authorities to continue this dialogue."
SUPER CAPTION: Prakash Shah, Kofi Annan's representative in Iraq

All Iraqi weapons must be destroyed before the U-N Security Council will lift trade sanctions that ban air travel to and from the country and limit sales of oil.

The sanctions were imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, which set off the 1991 Gulf War.

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