Weapons inspections must take place without games

Foreign Secretary stresses Iraqi weapons inspections must take place 'without games'

In a doorstep interview, the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, said 'what is crucial is that the international community, through the Security Council, makes it clear to Iraq that weapons inspections must take place without conditions, without delays, without games'.

Mr Straw said on 19 September:

"As the Prime Minister and I have made clear, the Iraqis have made their so called offer only as a result of the intensive pressure under which they have been placed by the international community and by the prospect of military action."

"What is crucial is that the international community, through the Security Council, makes it clear to Iraq that weapons inspections must take place without conditions, without delays, without games."

The Secretary of State continued:

"To secure that, we are in intensive discussions with our partners in the Security Council, we have always anticipated that there would come a moment when Iraqis decided the pressure was sufficient that they had to make an offer - in their terms - of an unconditional return of inspectors."

"But the government which wrote its letter offering unconditionally to admit inspectors three days ago is exactly the same government which said a few days before that it would never admit unconditional inspections. We have seen these games before."

ENDS

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