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Iraq hands over to UN

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BAGHDAD: Iraq has given the United Nations a written declaration on its past biological weapons programme and stated its determination to do everything to get U.N. sanctions lifted.

"The Iraqi side handed over a written declaration on its biological programme," Rolf Ekeus, chairman of the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM) charged with disarming Iraq under the 1991 Gulf War ceasefire, told reporters on Saturday.

He said the declaration included the history of Iraq's biological research programme and a technical description of what had been achieved.

The Iraqis, he said, also provided documents in support of their claim that they had destroyed the biological arms they had produced along with related research equipment.

"That is of course a matter which has to be verified," he added. Further meetings were planned with senior Iraqi officials on Saturday, Ekeus said.

The government newspaper al-Jumhouriya said in a front-page editorial Iraq was determined to do everything possible to end the U.N. embargo imposed for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

"We confirm to everyone that Iraq has made up its mind to put an end to sanctions as quickly as possible, using various means and methods," the paper declared.

The declaration is the first written document handed to the U.N. on biological weapons since Iraq admitted last month that its research in this area was geared for offensive purposes.

The biological file is the last remaining issue between Iraq and UNSCOM which has said it would not recommend a lifting of a U.N. ban on Iraqi oil exports unless it was satisfied with Iraqi disclosures and verifications of past activities.

Iraq has warned that it will halt cooperation with Ekeus if he does not end his mission by the end of August. The envoy said closing the biological file would depend on the quality of Iraqi declarations and how quickly his experts carry out verification.

The government newspaper also slammed U.S. President Bill Clinton for saying the United States would not lift the sanctions until Baghdad fully adhered to all post-Gulf War resolutions. It seemed Iraq's conflict was not with the U.N. Security Council but with Washington, the newspaper said.

Praising Ekeus for saying the lifting of sanctions was the responsibility of the Council, Jumhouriya said: "It (Iraq) is serious in its readiness to cooperate with various parties and respect their vital interests provided they are legitimate."

Commenting on Clinton's remarks, Ekeus said after arriving in Baghdad on Friday that all members of the council should decide on the sanctions, not only the United States.

In Washington on Thursday, Madeleine Albright, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said Iraq could not be trusted to volunteer full data on its biological warfare stocks. She said Baghdad had admitted to producing enough agents to kill every man, woman and child on Earth.

She said Iraq's biological warfare programme was begun earlier than it had admitted and involved more biological agents and more facilities and people than had been revealed.-Reuter