Iraq has told the UN arms inspectors that it will unconditionally accept flights over its territory by U2 surveillance planes.
"We sent a letter to Mr. Blix's office ... expressing our acceptance to UNMOVIC surveillance and by U2 and other airplanes ... without any conditions," Iraq ambassador to the United Nations Mohamed al-Douri told reporters. "Everything is resolved now," he said. "We are trying to avoid war by all means."
The letter was written by Amer al-Saadi, an adviser to Saddam Hussein and Iraq's liaison to the inspectors, al-Douri said.
Iraq had ruled out for safety reasons any UN spy planes flying over its territory while US and British warplanes continued patrolling no-fly zones in the north and south of the country.
But, according to AFP, al-Douri said Iraq was ready to protect the planes "in so far as it can, that is to say from the ground, because it cannot protect them from above."
Al-Douri said Iraq had also agreed to flights by French Mirage planes and by the Russian-made Antonov. "All the planes used by UNMOVIC and the International Atomic Energy Agency will be allowed," he said.
U2s fly at altitudes of more than 21,000 meters. They are best at scanning fixed installations and can spend more time over sites than spy satellites, which can only take a few minutes of pictures each day.
Al-Douri said a legislation would be passed next week and that Iraq would continue to encourage scientists to accept private interviews with inspectors.
Meanwhile, France, Russia and Germany made a joint appeal Monday for the peaceful disarmament of Iraq, after talks in Paris between French President Jacques Chirac and his Russian peer, Vladimir Putin.
Chirac told a news conference with Putin that they and Germany had agreed upon a joint declaration saying war should be the last resort and weapons inspections in Iraq could be beefed up.
"Russia, Germany and France favor the continuation of the inspections and a substantial reinforcement of their human and technical capacities through all possible means and in liaison with the inspectors," he read from the declaration.
"Russia, Germany and France are determined to ensure that everything possible is done to disarm Iraq peacefully," he read.
The declaration said there was still room for maneuver under U.N. resolution 1441 and that discussions "must continue in the spirit of friendship and respect that characterizes our relations with the United States."
Chirac told the news conference the three countries were prepared to carry through everything covered by the resolution. He said this did not include sending U.N. troops.
Chirac said there was still a lot of room for maneuver within the resolution, adding he still had not received "undisputed proof" that Iraq had banned weapons programs.
On his part, Putin said : "We think a solution of force could lead to an unpredictable escalation of tension. An overwhelming majority of countries in the international community feel the problem can and should be solved by diplomatic means." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
