MIDDLE EAST: Arab Foreign Ministers meeting at the Arab League in Cairo yesterday said they were confident that Iraq would accept UN Resolution 1441 before the November 15th deadline. Siona Jenkins reports fromCairo
Following the end of the first session of the two-day emergency meeting, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal appeared to confirm that Iraq had already accepted the resolution.
"I think everyone welcomed transferring the issue to the Security Council, and they welcomed Iraq's approval of this decision with the confirmation that Syria received that there would be no automatic military action," he told reporters.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Mr Ahmed Maher was also optimistic, if more cautious.
"There are statements at the highest level in Baghdad on the readiness to co-operate with any resolution which carries assurances that it does not foresee a military strike," he said. The ministers' remarks came after the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Mr Naji Sabri, addressed the meeting.
Although Mr Sabri insisted publicly that no decision had yet been made by the Iraqi government, he did not reject the resolution and said that it showed "the international community has aborted a decision by the United States to use force against Iraq." Another sign pointing to a positive Iraqi reaction was the announcement on Iraqi state television yesterday that Saddam Hussein had recalled the parliament to discuss the resolution, although no date was given for the session.
In Cairo, on the sidelines of the Arab League meeting, there was intense pressure on Baghdad to accept the terms of the Security Council.
On Saturday, Mr Sabri met Mr Maher and the US ambassador to Egypt, Mr David Welch. The latter told Mr Sabri that Resolution 1441 was consistent with Arab League attempts to bring about Iraqi adherence to UN resolutions.
The diplomatic flurry continued on Sunday morning, when Mr Sabri held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Although no statement was issued after the 40-minute meeting, presidential sources told journalists that the UN Resolution was discussed.
Arab governments are strongly opposed to war in Iraq, fearing that it could stoke the already strong anti-American feeling in the region and provoke a wave of popular unrest.
While uneasy about American intentions in Iraq, they have nonetheless supported the UN and have urged Iraq to comply with its demands to destroy all weapons of mass destruction and submit to a new weapons inspection regime.
Central to overcoming Arab suspicion of the Security Council resolution was the surprise decision of Syria to vote in its favour.
The only Arab country currently sitting on the council, it tried unsuccessfully to delay the vote at the UN until after Arab Foreign Ministers had met in Cairo and most observers expected it to abstain. But under strong diplomatic pressure from France and the United States, it was persuaded that the resolution would not give automatic support to a US-led attack on Iraq.
Syrian Foreign Minister Mr Faruq al-Shara spent much of Saturday and yesterday convincing his Arab colleagues - including Mr Sabri in a lengthy separate meeting - that the resolution did not give the US any pretext for launching a unilateral attack on Iraq.
But away from the diplomatic manoeuvring, however, the Arab press remained sceptical.
"The new resolution provides the USA with the cover it had been seeking in order to realise its desire to hit Iraq and destroy its military capabilities. This has the strongest support and blessings of Israel," said an editorial in the semi-official Egyptian al-Akhbar newspaper yesterday.
Belgian police arrested 29 youths as rocks were thrown and windows smashed during a protest in Brussels yesterday by 1,500 people against a US-led war on Iraq, police said. - (AFP)