London, 20 December 2002 (RFE/RL) -- Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix says that the United States and Britain are not providing inspectors with enough information for their weapons search in Iraq. Blix said in a BBC radio interview today that the most useful things that governments can do is to identify sites where weapons or materials are stored. He said he is hopeful that such information will be forthcoming now that inspectors are in full operation.
After Blix reported to the UN Security Council yesterday on Iraq's declaration on the status of its weapons programs, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States considers Iraq in material breach of UN Security Council Resolution 1441. "It should be obvious that the pattern of systematic holes and gaps in Iraq's declaration is not the result of accidents or editing oversights or technical mistakes. These are material omissions that, in our view, constitute another material breach," Powell said.
Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Sergei Lavrov, said today in Washington that the threat of war against Iraq still exists. Interfax quoted Lavrov as saying that most Security Council members are working to reduce that threat.
After Blix reported to the UN Security Council yesterday on Iraq's declaration on the status of its weapons programs, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States considers Iraq in material breach of UN Security Council Resolution 1441. "It should be obvious that the pattern of systematic holes and gaps in Iraq's declaration is not the result of accidents or editing oversights or technical mistakes. These are material omissions that, in our view, constitute another material breach," Powell said.
Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Sergei Lavrov, said today in Washington that the threat of war against Iraq still exists. Interfax quoted Lavrov as saying that most Security Council members are working to reduce that threat.