IRAQ: The UN chief weapons inspector, Dr Hans Blix, was upbeat yesterday as he arrived in Cyprus following two days of consultations in Iraq.
"It was a constructive visit," he said at Larnaca international airport.
"We had good discussions with representatives of the Iraqi government and \ assured us they will fully implement the [Security Council] resolution and co-operate with us," he said.
"Very soon the first group of inspectors will arrive and they will get down to the inspections immediately and there will be a gradual build-up of the force."
It is expected that the UN Monitoring, Inspection and Verification Commission (UNMOVIC) will have around 100 inspectors and logistical staff in the field at one time. Dr Blix has recruited 230 inspectors from 45 countries.
Dr Muhammad ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who accompanied Dr Blix, said that Iraqi officials "made it very clear they will do everything possible to co-operate, but we hope that this will translate into full co-operation on the ground" when inspections begin.
Dr Blix is in charge of the search for prohibited chemical material and biological agents and banned medium- or long-range missiles.
Dr ElBaradei has the task of discovering any nuclear programmes Iraq may have in violation of UN resolutions.
Before leaving Baghdad, Dr Blix said Iraq has to prove it has no weapons of mass destruction and urged it to re-examine its arsenals. Iraq's claim that it possesses no banned weaponry "must be convincingly shown by documen- tation, by evidence", Dr Blix remarked. "We don't think that has yet been convincingly done."
While in the Iraqi capital, Dr Blix and Dr ElBaradei met the Iraqi team which will be assisting UNMOVIC in its work. This group is headed by a top-ranking figure, Gen Hossam Muhammad Amin, who holds a British degree in communications and radar engineering.
The other senior members are Gen Amir Rashid, the minister of oil, and Mr Amir al-Saadi, the senior weapons adviser to President Saddam Hussein.
Thirty UNMOVIC staff members remained behind in Baghdad to reopen and prepare facilities abandoned in December, 1998 when inspectors attached to the disbanded UN Special Commission were abruptly withdrawn ahead of an intensive Anglo-US bombing campaign.
A dozen UNMOVIC inspectors are scheduled to arrive in Baghdad on November 25th and begin a carefully planned programme of inspections two days later.
Around 100 sites out of a total of 1,000 have been given priority.