Brussels, 13/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday on behalf of the EU, Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, acting President of the European Council, said: "as president Bush emphasised in his important statement this morning", "Iraq remains a major source of concern with regard to weapons of mass destruction". In his speech, the President of the United States proposed that the other UN member states act together to resolve the Iraqi crisis and US Secretary of State Colin Powell was expected to work with the other permanent members of the Security Council on Friday on a resolution setting a deadline for Baghdad to allow the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq. In this connection, Rasmussen said: "Iraq must grant unconditional and unimpeded access for the weapons inspectors to Iraq and the required cooperation from her authorities to the inspectors". Noting that Iraq is violating several Security Council Resolutions on disarmament, which "must be complied with immediately", Rasmussen said the EU was determined "to support further efforts of the United Nations to that end. We agree with the United States that this matter should urgently be dealt with by the Security Council… if Iraq's defiance continues, the Security Council must face its responsibilities".
George W. Bush's desire to settle the Iraqi issue through the UN was also welcomed in Brussels by the Commission, where Commissioner Chris Patten's spokesperson, Gunnar Wiegand, said the US President had sent an important, strong and clear signal, adding that the UN's authority was at stake. Wiegand hailed the US' clear commitment to cooperate with the Security Council, which would facilitate the establishment of a common approach between the US and the EU. He said that the Commission (like Rasmussen yesterday, see page 4 of yesterday's Europe) still felt it would be beneficial politically if any intervention against Iraq to be based on a new UN Resolution.