UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's recent response to an Iraqi letter on the resumption of weapons inspections in the country fully represents the position of the Security Council, its president said Wednesday.
"The Secretary-General's letter was completely consistent with Council's view that Iraq must comply with all outstanding Security Council resolutions," Council President John Negroponte told reporters in New York.
He noted that the letter, which was sent Tuesday, reflected discussions held at a luncheon with Security Council members on Monday.
He said council members and the UN chief agreed that the roadmap to the reintroduction of inspectors in Iraq, and hence the assurance of disarmament of Iraq of weapons of mass destruction is laid out in resolution 1284.
The UN has not been able to conduct on-the-ground weapons inspections in Iraq since 1998. The letter from Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, received last Thursday, invited Hans Blix, the Executive Chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, to Iraq for technical discussions.
(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2002)
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