S P E C I A L: The Standoff with Iraq

New diplomatic bid to end Iraq crisis

U.S. seeks more information on Iraqi-Russian plan

November 18, 1997

Web posted at: 1:26 p.m. EST (1826 GMT)

Latest development:

MOSCOW (CNN) -- Russia and Iraq have worked out a plan intended to avoid the use of force in the standoff between Baghdad and the United Nations, Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov said after talks Tuesday with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz.

No details were announced and the Clinton administration said it awaited information on the plan. "We have not yet talked to Prime Minister Primakov and have no information on what (the plan) may mean or whether it is acceptable to us," said National Security Adviser Sandy Berger.

Berger spoke to reporters following a White House meeting of President Clinton and his foreign policy and military advisers. Berger said that for the plan to be acceptable, it would have to ensure that President Saddam Hussein allows U.N. arms inspectors, including Americans, back into Iraq.

Berger also confirmed that foreign ministers or officials of equivalent rank from the United States, Russia, France, Britain and China were considering a meeting to discuss the crisis.

A senior Western diplomat told CNN the meeting would be held Wednesday in Geneva. But Berger said Wednesday would be too soon to accommodate U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who is traveling in Asia.

"There has been some discussion of a meeting of the ministers but at this point it is simply a discussion and for logistical reasons it would be difficult for Secretary Albright to be at that (on Wednesday)," he said.

National Security Adviser Berger comments on the Iraqi demands regarding U.N. weapons inspectors 349K/30 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Berger news conference

In Geneva, a senior U.N. official said the earliest such a meeting could be held is Thursday.

Berger also said the administration was considering revising a U.N. arrangement that allows Iraq to sell limited amounts of oil so long as the revenues are used to buy food and medicine.

He denied this would be offered as an inducement for Iraq to allow U.N. inspectors back.

"Once this (crisis) is resolved, if it is resolved satisfactorily, and Saddam Hussein comes into compliance, we would be in favor of having more oil available, under U.N. supervision, for food to avoid any suffering that we could avoid to the Iraqi people," Berger said.

Iraq's Foreign Minister al-Sahhaf comments on the effects of sanctions on the Iraqi people 320K/25 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf rejected the overture to extend the oil-for-food arrangement, saying that the U.N. program "has nothing to do" with the current crisis. "Our demand is ... lifting sanctions," he told reporters at a Baghdad news conference.

Currently, Iraq can sell $2 billion worth of oil every six months to buy badly needed food and medicine.

As a result of his talks with Aziz in Moscow, Primakov said, "a specific program has been worked out which, we believe, allows us to avoid military confrontation and the use of military methods and ... of course with Iraq fulfilling the corresponding U.N. Security Council resolutions."

The Russian foreign minister said President Boris Yeltsin had sent a letter to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein that contains "a well-thought-out" plan on ways out of the crisis. Aziz, he said, brought a response on Tuesday.

Aziz has been visiting various countries to try to rally support for Hussein, whose government says the United States unduly controls the U.N. arms inspection teams.

The United States has looked to Russia and France to use their traditional lines of communication with Hussein to help ease tensions.

Primakov is an Arab affairs expert and former Russian intelligence chief who as a Soviet diplomat tried to head off military action against Iraq after it invaded Kuwait in 1990.

The current standoff began on October 29 when Iraq announced it planned to expel U.S. weapons inspectors working for the United Nations.

The expulsions took place last Thursday, when six Americans were kicked out. The U.N. withdrew its remaining 68 inspectors in protest. The Iraqi action was condemned by the U.N. Security Council and the United States held out the threat of a possible military strike in retaliation.

Certification that Iraq has destroyed all its nuclear, chemical, biological and ballistic arms is required before punishing sanctions imposed after Baghdad invaded Kuwait in 1990 can be lifted.