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Tuesday, 4 February, 2003, 17:23 GMT
'UN key' to solving Iraq crisis
![]() The leaders tried hard to find common ground in public
The French and British leaders have agreed that Iraq must be disarmed and that the best approach is through the United Nations.
President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Tony Blair said differences remained between them, but both emphasised their common ground.
The four countries - all leading members of the Council - need to agree a position, or at least not object, for a resolution to be passed. The US and UK have been the most aggressive of the four, saying no further approval is needed from the UN before a possible invasion of Iraq. UN emphasis But France and Russia - both of whom may veto any Security Council ruling - have urged for more time for diplomacy. They would both like a second UN resolution before force is used to disarm Iraq.
Mr Blair - who met Mr Bush for talks on Iraq last week - said it was vital to examine Mr Powell's evidence and a report from inspectors next week, before deciding if force was necessary to ensure Iraq did not have banned weapons. But Mr Chirac said: "War is always the worst of solutions."
Correspondents say Mr Blair failed to get any new support from Mr Chirac. Instead, the two highlighted their basic agreement. Mr Chirac said: "As far as Iraq is concerned, we have different approaches but first and foremost we have two convictions which are fundamental and are shared. "The first is that we have to disarm Iraq, and the second conviction that we share is that this has to be undertaken within the Security Council of the United Nations. "Regarding that, we are entirely in agreement," he said.
Mr Chirac said he had not yet decided whether France would veto a Security Council resolution explicitly authorising an invasion, should one be tabled. Kremlin call In the latest of what has become a series of one-to-one talks between leaders of Security Council members, Mr Bush called Mr Putin to brief him before Mr Powell's submission.
President Putin stressed the importance of the inspections inside Iraq but the two leaders said they would try to work together, the Kremlin said. "The leaders of the two nations spoke out in favour of continuing close co-operation on the Iraqi problem, together with other nations, within the framework of the UN Security Council," the statement said. The flurry of leadership talks came after the BBC learnt that senior British Army officers have been told to prepare for an occupation of Iraq lasting up to three years in the event of war. The US, UK and other nations have been building up deployments of forces in the Gulf region for several months. |
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04 Feb 03 | Europe
04 Feb 03 | Europe
04 Feb 03 | UK
04 Feb 03 | Europe
03 Feb 03 | Politics
02 Feb 03 | Middle East
29 Oct 02 | Politics
04 Feb 03 | Europe
04 Feb 03 | Europe
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