IRELAND: The United Nations Security Council remained "centre-stage" in the Iraqi crisis, as far as the Irish Government was concerned, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, told reporters in Dublin yesterday.
"We don't accept that war is an inevitable outcome," he said.
The Government awaited the assessment of the independent weapons inspectors, led by Dr Hans Blix of UNMOVIC and the International Atomic Energy Agency, on their findings in Iraq.
An abridged version of the Iraqi declaration on weapons of mass destruction had "just arrived" in the Department.
"I am going to study the 3,000 pages," the Minister said.
He rejected suggestions that the document, originally some 12,000 pages in length, had been censored by the US. The Security Council, including Ireland, had agreed that it would arrange for the distribution of the full document among the permanent five members, China, France, Russia, the UK and the US.
Ireland as one of the "non-proliferators" of nuclear weapons was happy that material on the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction was given a confined readership.
The Government was "pleased" with the council's central role in the Iraqi situation.
Resolution 1441, passed unanimously by the council, was "a major achievement for the multilateral system [for bodies composed of different countries such as the UN\]".
He added: "We have provided a basis for Iraq to meet its obligations without the inevitability of war."
He said there had been "predictions of pre-emptive strikes" on a unilateral basis by the US but, four or five months later, these had still not come to pass. Instead, the US had worked within the UN framework.
When it was suggested that the US might still feel entitled to go ahead without council approval, he said there were different views on the international legal position. "For the purposes of making an international coalition," everyone would be well advised to continue working through the council, to ensure the maximum validation and authorisation of any actions taken, he said.
Asked if Shannon Airport would be made available to US forces for refuelling purposes following an outbreak of war against Iraq, he said the Government would make its assessment "on the basis of what emerges from our Security Council discussions". It was an issue that would be "very carefully considered" by the Government.
The Government had made "an exceptional case" at the time of the Afghanistan conflict last year, because it wanted to "show solidarity" in the spirit of Security Council Resolution 1368, an anti-terrorist motion passed in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11th, 2001.
He pointed out that the US was committed to coming back to the council to discuss the position on Iraqi weapons.
"What we have achieved in Resolution 1441 is a means by which Iraq can take the proactive steps to avoid war." It was a matter for the council to consider what further action should be taken in the event of non-compliance by Baghdad.