Cowen says Iraq must end its defiance

War in Iraq is avoidable if the Iraqi regime does "what it hasn't done before, which is to end its defiance" of international law, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, has said.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio's Morning Ireland programme yesterday, the Minister said he believed US policy on the threatened military conflict was "far more nuanced and sophisticated" than it was sometimes portrayed. As a result, he said, "I genuinely believe it [war] is avoidable. I think, that despite the rhetoric that sometimes emanated from the administration of the United States, that when you look at the substance of the policy it has shown that it has involved in an engagement with the Security Council; it has within the UN framework."

Defending the Government's decision to allow US military aircraft refuel at Shannon Airport, Mr Cowen remarked: "The arrangements that there are in relation to airspace and the use of our airports are the same arrangements that have been in place for decades, and there has been no change in that situation."

On Ireland's position regarding the possibility of war, he added: "We believe the Security Council and the inspection teams must be given the opportunity to deal with this situation in a way which is non-violent and that the Security Council at the end of the day are the people who will make the decision if continued non-compliance by Iraq continues. And, as the Secretary General of the UN, said, in the interests of effective multilateralism we will have to discharge our responsibilities if this defiance continues.

"Let's hope that the Iraqi regime for the sake of their own people decide it is time to comply with the international legal standards that are being demanded of them by the international community and the UN resolutions." Mr Cowen rejected the view that the conflict was all about oil. "It is about the fact that Saddam Hussein for has ten years defied the will of the international community, including Islamists and Muslims throughout the world where he is supposed to divest himself of weapons of mass destruction.

"Secondly, this idea that Mr Hussein is a guy who simply has the capacity to use weapons of mass destruction but never used them. Tell that to the Kurds. Tell that to the people who were gassed"

The Minister rejected claims that the conflict was rooted in a "clash of civilisations", describing this as "a very dangerous paradigm in which to try to promote a discussion which enhances peoples' sense of dignity and peoples' sense of participation. I don't accept there is a civilisational conflict because I think basic human values are universal. They are not particular to any particular culture or religious background."

"I think there is a great danger that many people perceive Islam in the context of fundamentalism. When you consider that 40 per cent of all Muslims living in the world live as minority communities in societies where they are participating, where they are clearly integrated, this should show the world that this attempt to stereotype Islam in this extremist mode is something that is an aberration." A spokesman for the Department refused to be drawn on whether Irish airspace would remain open to US military aircraft if a war in Iraq was not UN mandated.