During a four-way press conference with the leaders of Great Britain, Spain and Portugal, following a meeting held on the Portugese Azores islands, US President George W. Bush reiterated several times that he sees Monday as the “last chance for diplomacy to work” in getting Saddam Hussein to give up his weapons of mass destruction or to abdicate. President Bush said that he would spend Monday “working the phones” in a last-ditch effort to reach a peaceful resolution of the Iraq crisis.
While all of the leaders indicated that their motivation was solely to help the United Nations in accomplishing what its own resolutions on Iraq set out to do - namely, disarm the Baghdad dictator - Bush was more direct in listing the UN’s recent failures. He noted, by way of example, the lack of UN resolve in preventing the slaughter of innocents in Rwanda and Kosovo, and said that “we may need to help [the UN] do its job.” British Prime Minister Tony Blair echoed the US president’s sentiments and said that it is the Iraqi people who are the primary victim of Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Spain, the US and the UK have drafted a joint resolution to be brought before the United Nations Security Council, which gives Iraq a Monday deadline to agree to voluntarily disarm or face united international action forcing that result. However, the UNSC is divided on the issue, with veto-holding nations France, Russia and China, saying weapons inspectors need more time to search for banned Iraqi weapons. Meanwhile, Belgium threatened to cut off its airspace to the US overflights if the Iraq invasion goes ahead without UN approval.
In statements issued today in Baghdad, the Iraqi dictator threatened, “If attacked, we will take the war to other places in the world.”
Touching briefly on what the three leaders refer to as the “Middle East peace process”, Prime Minister Tony Blair said that Bush’s recent statements on the issue were positive and that he agrees with the ultimate aim, which is to see a secure Israel beside “a Palestinian state that is viable.” Similarly, the Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, said, “We`ve agreed on boosting Mideast peace process, which will end with two states alongside each other.”
While all of the leaders indicated that their motivation was solely to help the United Nations in accomplishing what its own resolutions on Iraq set out to do - namely, disarm the Baghdad dictator - Bush was more direct in listing the UN’s recent failures. He noted, by way of example, the lack of UN resolve in preventing the slaughter of innocents in Rwanda and Kosovo, and said that “we may need to help [the UN] do its job.” British Prime Minister Tony Blair echoed the US president’s sentiments and said that it is the Iraqi people who are the primary victim of Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Spain, the US and the UK have drafted a joint resolution to be brought before the United Nations Security Council, which gives Iraq a Monday deadline to agree to voluntarily disarm or face united international action forcing that result. However, the UNSC is divided on the issue, with veto-holding nations France, Russia and China, saying weapons inspectors need more time to search for banned Iraqi weapons. Meanwhile, Belgium threatened to cut off its airspace to the US overflights if the Iraq invasion goes ahead without UN approval.
In statements issued today in Baghdad, the Iraqi dictator threatened, “If attacked, we will take the war to other places in the world.”
Touching briefly on what the three leaders refer to as the “Middle East peace process”, Prime Minister Tony Blair said that Bush’s recent statements on the issue were positive and that he agrees with the ultimate aim, which is to see a secure Israel beside “a Palestinian state that is viable.” Similarly, the Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, said, “We`ve agreed on boosting Mideast peace process, which will end with two states alongside each other.”