Powell agrees to delay on new Iraq sanctions
By Rom Raum, Associated Press Writer
May 31, 2001
The United States and its allies are willing to postpone for up to six months a
UN decision on restructuring sanctions against Iraq to give Russia more time to
study proposed changes. US officials, however, said they are hopeful Moscow's
review can be completed in one month.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell cited "general agreement" among members of the UN Security Council that sanctions "have lost some of their effectiveness. It is wise to move forward," he said, speaking with reporters as he flew home late Wednesday from a NATO meeting in Budapest.
Powell expressed optimism that agreement on a new sanctions package could soon be reached. While in Budapest, Powell conferred separately with foreign ministers of Britain, France and Russia. With the United States, these nations represent four of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
China, the fifth member, was not directly involved in the talks. Each of the five permanent members has veto power. "The action is (now) back in New York," Powell said, referring to negotiations expected to continue at UN headquarters on the contentious issue. The current humanitarian oilforfood program is due to expire on June 3.
Under the informal agreement nailed down by Powell, that program will be temporarily extended, primarily to give Russia a chance to scrutinize a proposed new list of banned items, said a senior administration official. The extension, to be put in the form of a UN resolution over the weekend, will nominally be for six months. But the official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, said the United States expected Russia's review to be completed in a month.
The agreement to "roll over" the current program was an attempt to overcome a serious impasse on the Security Council, with the June 3 deadline fast approaching. The United States and Britain want to restructure the sanctions to allow free trade on most civilian goods while tightening them on military imports.
Russia has been the main obstacle to putting such a plan in place, although France and China have also urged against haste. Final details of the proposed agreement came together during a Wednesday meeting between Powell and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.
Under the current deadline, the Security Council must extend or revamp the program that allows Iraq to sell unlimited quantities of oil to pay for the needs of its civilian population. Iraq remains under sanctions imposed after it invaded Kuwait in 1990.
The restructuring of sanctions is one of the Bush administration's first foreign policy initiatives. The USBritish plan would remove most restrictions on trade in consumer goods and materials for rebuilding public services. It would retain control of Iraqi oil profits through UNadministered escrow accounts.
The United States wants to see controls tightened on items it considers as dangerous, particularly those which could be used to manufacture weapons of mass destruction. The proposal would keep in place the United Nations resolution that states sanctions cannot be removed until Iraq allows arms inspectors to return.
Other issues still remain to be decided, including how the embargo is to be enforced at border points and how to control smuggling. "There are lots of variants," Powell said.
The United States is compiling a list of items it wants banned, including certain technologies and communications equipment. Many items now banned, such as small diesel generators and refrigerator pumps, would be removed from the list.
Powell said the sanctions were originally intended as "an arms control program," not an attempt to remove Saddam Hussein from power. On another subject, Powell took issue with those who saw NATO's reluctance to be more supportive of the US missile defense plan as a setback for the Bush administration.
"Everybody was keeping a scorecard on who won and who lost in Budapest. We weren't playing a game in Budapest," he said. I didn't come with a proposal to lay before them,".
Administration officials worked unsuccessfully behind the scenes to get NATO to adopt language recognizing a "common threat" from missile attack from terrorists or hostile nations. Instead, NATO leaders only agreed to continue consultations with Washington on the subject.