The foreign minister of the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council berated the United Nations yesterday for excluding the council from its deliberations on Iraq, and appealed to the UN to return to Baghdad immediately to help restore security.
In an address to the UN Security Council, Mr Hoshyar Zebari also laid out the process for direct elections in Iraq by the end of 2005.
The UN Secretary General in turn admonished the Iraqi council and the US-led coalition for leaving the UN uncertain of its role in Iraq.
"We need much greater clarity on what is expected of the United Nations by Iraqis and by the coalition in terms of assistance to the political transition," Mr Kofi Annan said.
"This is not, as some have concluded, a formula for the United Nations to stand aloof from the process. The stakes are too high for the international community just to watch from the sidelines."
Emphasising his words, Mr Annan said the UN needed to know how responsibilities will be allocated, who will be taking decisions, what Iraqis expected of the UN, "and whether we will be in a position to meet these expectations".
In his address, Mr Zebari told Mr Annan "your help and expertise cannot be effectively delivered from Cyprus or Amman", a reference to the withdrawal of the UN mission HQ from Baghdad following the August 19th bombing of its offices which killed 22 people.
Mr Annan responded that "persistent security concerns" prevented the return of more than a few international staff and he needed to weigh the risk against the substance of the role the UN was asked to fulfill. Diplomats say the UN is not expected to return before mid-2004.
In a swipe at France and Russia, Mr Zebari accused the 15-member Security Council of being divided "between those who wanted to appease Saddam Hussein and those who wanted to hold him accountable" and said they should overcome deep divisions "without settling scores with the United States".
He argued that without Iraqi participation in UN discussions on Iraq, such as the recently formed UN contact group, "decisions taken cannot be held valid".
Mr Zebari said approval of a Fundamental Law would be completed by February 28th 2004; Iraq's 18 provinces would elect representatives through caucuses to a transitional assembly by May 31st, 2004; the assembly will appoint a transitional administration by June 30th, 2004; a constitutional convention will be directly elected by March 15th, 2005, and elections for a new government based on the constitution would be held by December 31st 2005.
In the meantime Iraqis must take charge of their own security, Mr Zebari said. He called the capture of Saddam Hussein a "historical day for Iraq that will deal a huge blow to his misguided former loyalists". But for 35 years the UN had failed to help rescue Iraq from "a murderous tyranny" and the UN "must not fail the Iraqi people again".