Britain and the United States would be ready to "alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people" if Baghdad stuck to United Nations resolutions on destroying its weapons of mass destruction, British officials said yesterday. "We've worked up some ideas with the Americans which the Foreign Secretary [Robin Cook] discussed earlier today with his Russian and French counterparts," an official said, but declined to give details.
In Islamabad, a senior US official said Washington was discussing with Britain and France the possibility of making "modest adjustments" in the oil for food programme as an incentive for Iraq in the current crisis.
Britain and the US are trying to put together a united international approach after Iraq's decision to expel Americans on the UN team inspecting Baghdad's weapons of mass destruction. The decision, taken on October 29th, led to the tense stand-off during which American has built up its naval and military presence in the Gulf, while thousands of Iraqis have flocked to public buildings and industrial installations to act as human shields. "Our aim is to jointly increase the political pressure on Baghdad to reach an acceptable outcome," the US official said. "One of the things we are looking at is ways to do more to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people."
Baghdad says countless people have died since strict UN sanctions were imposed after Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait in 1990. Under the oil for food programme Iraq is permitted to sell $2 billion worth of oil every six months, with the proceeds controlled by the United Nations and directed at Iraq's humanitarian needs.
The US official said changes could include the kinds of items Iraq is now barred from buying, an increase in the amount of oil sold and extending the life of the programme from six months to a longer period.
Both London and Washington earlier dismissed a possible Iraqi compromise that would readmit US members of UNSCOM. The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Tariq Aziz, said they could return if the UN agreed to change the composition of the inspection groups.
Mr Aziz had said in an interview with the French daily Le Figaro that Baghdad would allow the return of US members in UNSCOM so long as they were on an equal footing with UN arms experts from other countries.
"Iraq cannot dictate the composition of the teams. The UN cannot accept discrimination . . . There is no room for negotiation on this," a British foreign office spokesman said.
"We hope Aziz's comments indicate an Iraqi willingness to move in the direction of the UN's position. But Iraq must first make clear a willingness to comply with UN Security Council resolutions."
Meanwhile in New York, the UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, described as "encouraging" Iraqi declarations that seem directed toward defusing the crisis.
"I think it's encouraging," Mr Annan said after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein stated he did not seek confrontation with the United States. "Everybody is trying to do whatever they can to avoid a conflict," Mr Annan said. "I see [Saddam's] comments in that spirit."
Last Sunday, US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, flew to Gulf States to drum up support for its position that Iraq should not dictate arms inspections terms to the UN. Meanwhile, a number of Arab countries, along with Russia, France and China, have called for a diplomatic settlement to the standoff. Mr Annan said all parties - including Mr Saddam - were trying to resolve the UN arms inspection conflict peacefully. He also described Iraqi remarks that it would tolerate the return of US inspectors under a reorganised team as a "movement" away from the country's previous intransigence - and part of a larger movement to seek a diplomatic solution.