UK has no plans to seek UN approval for Iraq war

London, March 20, IRNA -- The UK has no plans to seek a new UN
Security Council Resolution authorising military action against Iraq,
but insists that any decision would be in accordance with
international law.
"Any action of a military nature contemplated by Her Majesty's
Government - I stress that no decision has as yet been taken - would
follow the procedure that all such decisions follow," Foreign Office
Minister Baroness Symons told the House of Lords Tuesday.
Speaking in a short parliamentary debate on Iraq, she insisted
that any military action "would be taken under the auspices of
international law."
"Any decision would be taken after a careful and cautious
assessment of what is needed. It must have a realistic chance of
achieving its objective and it must be proportionate to the threat
posed," the Foreign Office Minister said.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has indicated that he would support any
US proposals for extending the war against terrorism in Afghanistan
to Iraq despite opposition from many backbench MPs and reservations
voiced by the UK's European Union partners.
Speaking at a press conference in London Tuesday, Russian Foreign
Minister Igor Ivanov also warned that any military action
contemplated against Iraq must have UN support.
Russia was "against any attack on a country, be it Iraq or any
other country, which bypasses the UN Security Council," Ivanov said
after holding talks with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
Answering questions in the House of Lords, Symons insisted that
there had been "nine Security Council resolutions in the past 10
years, placing 27 obligations on Iraq - and 23 of those obligations
have been flouted."
"Iraq's record in this area relates not only to the specific issue
of al-Qaeda, but also to the general climate of terrorism, and very
particularly to Iraq's ability to produce weapons of mass destruction
and its seeming acceleration of such production," she said.
HC/KS
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