IRAQ: Iraq yesterday condemned US proposals for a tough UN resolution on arms inspections, as much of the world stayed warily on the sidelines of a diplomatic chess game that could end in war.
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz said in neighbouring Turkey that the new US draft resolution, which demands that Iraq open every inch of its territory to inspectors or face swift attack, was "unacceptable".
But he assured NATO member Turkey, home to US airbases likely to be used to launch air raids against Iraq in any new war, that Baghdad's forces would not attack Turkey itself.
"No, we are not going to retaliate against anybody in the region except American aggressors," he said at a news conference, in comments apparently tailored to isolate Washington from international sympathy.
He told Turkish television a war would not bring Washington easy victory. "Iraq is strong, even if the Americans attack Iraq we will fight very effectively," he said.
After talks with chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix and other UN officials in Vienna, Iraq agreed on Tuesday to let arms inspectors, who left in 1998, back into Iraq under existing UN agreements. Washington was quick to reject any resumption of inspections before a new Security Council resolution is in place.
On the sensitive issue of inspecting "presidential sites", which include palaces of President Saddam Hussein and are suspected of containing weapons or related materials, Mr Aziz said an agreement reached with UNSecretary-General Kofi Annan in February 1998 was still in place.
That agreement stipulated special arrangements be made for any inspections of eight specific "presidential sites" - apparently falling far short of Washington's demand for "unfettered access" to anywhere in Iraq.
Of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members with veto power, only Britain has so far has signed up to the draft resolution, which some diplomats call a blueprint for war because Iraq could never agree to it.
France, Russia and China have strong reservations about authorizing the United States to decide when Iraq has violated terms of the proposed resolution. But it is far from certain that they will veto the measure or abstain if no compromise emerges.
"This proposal of the United States is unacceptable, not only by Iraq, it's unacceptable by the Security Council because there is no need for a new resolution," Mr Aziz told a news conference in the Turkish capital Ankara.
"The standing resolutions of the Security Council concerning the inspections are valid and they are enough for the perfect performance of the inspectors." He said Washington was using accusations that Baghdad has weapons of mass destruction as a "pretext".
"If they were genuine in their concerns they should be happy that Iraq and Mr Blix reached an agreement for resumption of inspections."