31 January 2003
Read the transcript of the press conference in full
Prime Minister Aznar
We are making continuous efforts for and in favour of peace. We want peace and we want the crisis which has been created by Iraq to be solved peacefully. Now this depends on the Iraqi regime complying with the UN Resolution. We are therefore working within the framework of UN Resolutions and specifically within the framework of UN Resolution 1441 approved unanimously by the Security Council. This Resolution 1441 received the express support from the European Union and the Copenhagen European Council and especially of the 4 European countries who form part of the Security Council last week in Brussels and it received the support of the Atlantic Alliance countries at the Prague Summit and we take good note of the fact that Resolution 1441 was also deemed favourably by the Arab League.
I would like to recall that Resolution 1441 gives one last opportunity to Saddam’s regime regarding his obligations to disarm and that his obligation to disarm is proven, the fact that he has complied with it. In 1991 Resolution 687 of the UN Security Council required an unconditional dismantling of any kind of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons that Saddam’s regime may have. The UN Security Council since 1991 has on 9 occasions condemned non-compliance by Saddam Hussein’s regime of the UN Resolutions and Resolution 1441 is the one that gives this last opportunity and warns of the consequences of non-compliance.
The work carried out by Inspectors which we deeply appreciate has not proven that he is disarming and I have to remind you that the Iraqi regime’s duty is to co-operate with the Inspectors and the Inspectors have to verify that the Iraqi regime dismantles its systems in accordance with the Resolution. My first point is that I intend and prefer this problem to continue to be taken within the framework of the United Nations, but more specifically of the Security Council and my firm desire that a second Resolution of the UN Security Council to be possible under which the Security Council would assume its responsibilities, would assess the situation and adopt the measures made necessary by the circumstances at the time. That would be a good proof of the fact that the international community is united in defending international legality of the Security Council.
And finally, we confront the risk linked by weapons of mass destruction in the hands of certain regimes who even use them against their people, and the link with terrorism and the link between terrorism and WMD is not in the realm of fantasy, but reality, and no-one can look aside when we are facing the possibility of terrorist groups having access and the possible use of weapons of mass destruction. That is a serious possibility, and it must be borne in mind.
We want peace and security for all and we know that everyone’s peace and security requires steps for legality and not violation and we know that the responsibility is fully in the hands of those who have to prove and have not yet proven to comply with the UN Security Council Resolutions.
To date, ladies and gentlemen, 7 Heads of Government, not Heads of State, the two here present plus the Italian Prime Minister, the Portuguese Prime Minister, Poland, Hungary, the President of the Czech Republic and as I have been told this afternoon the President of the Slovak Republic all share the same idea, and we stated these criteria and some media are ready and we want to confirm this position and we trust that our endeavours for peace, security and for a new UN Resolution that allows us to carry out this operation in the best way possible for the benefit of the world is within our reach.
Prime Minister
Thank you Jose Maria. First of all, can I extend my thanks to Prime Minister Aznar for welcoming me here in Spain and say how pleased I am that we are in complete agreement as to the right way forward to deal with this issue. I think he is absolutely right in posing the question, why are we in this position? It is because of the history of Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime that for many years have been told by the United Nations in successive Resolutions to disarm themselves of chemical, biological and potentially nuclear weapons, have had numerous processes of inspection which have failed, have had a situation where in 1998, when there were still quantities of chemical and biological weapons in particular left over, the Inspectors were effectively put out of Iraq, and where the world has now come together in a new Resolution 1441 and given Iraq one last chance, and Saddam Hussein one last chance, to disarm themselves of these weapons. The reason why the United Nations has taken this position, not just over the past few months but over many years, is because of the threat these weapons pose in the hands of Saddam Hussein who has used these weapons not merely against other countries, but also against his own people.
Now we are therefore in the situation where as we say in our Article, signed with other leaders today, we are insisting that Saddam Hussein abide by the United Nations Resolution, that that Resolution makes it very clear that his duty is to co-operate fully with the Inspectors in that disarmament process, that we must support the UN Inspectors in making sure that that disarmament process happens, but that if it cannot happen through the United Nations Weapons Inspectors and obedience to the UN Resolution, then it must happen by other means. And I agree entirely also with Prime Minister Aznar, no-one wants conflict in this situation, but we also have a duty to protect our people in a world that is threatened not just by international terrorism, but also by the issue of mass destruction and their proliferation. And I believe also that these issues are linked and I think when our people see the threats around them, the problems that are being posed by these terrorist groups, the fact that these terrorist groups have no compunction at all about the numbers of innocent people that they kill, and the fact also that we know of the existence of these types of weapons - chemical, biological, and potentially nuclear weapons, proliferating in the world, I really say to people it is only a matter of time before these threats comes together in a devastating way. And therefore the reason we are acting in this way is not because we want conflict, but because we need to protect the peace and security of our people.
So I believe this is an important moment for us all. It is a test of the seriousness with which we are treating this issue of weapons of mass destruction. It is a test also of the United Nations and the international community and how we resolve it through the United Nations, which is what we want to see, and it is also a test of our political will and political resolve and I am grateful that Prime Minister Aznar has shown the leadership on these issues to put them before people and to say, as I say, and as we have said in the joint Article today, that this is an issue that we must confront. We confront it through the international community, but we must insist that the issue is dealt with, and dealt with to protect our people and to make the world more secure, more peaceful in the future.
Thank you.
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