-- UPDATE 1-ElBaradei says Iraq needs drastic attitude change --
(Adds more quotes, background)
By Michele Kambas
LARNACA, Cyprus, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Mohamed ElBaradei, head
of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency, said on Friday Iraq
needed to show quick and drastic change in its cooperation with
U.N. weapons inspectors.
ElBaradei, who arrived in Cyprus on his way to Baghdad on
Saturday with chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix, said
"closure" was needed on the issues of chemical and biological
missiles.
"Time is critical and we need to show quick progress and we
need to show drastic change on the part of Iraq in cooperation
on these areas," he told reporters.
ElBaradei and Blix, who heads teams searching for any
biological and chemical weapons, leave Baghdad on Monday to
prepare their crucial next report to the Security Council on
February 14.
Blix will travel to New York and ElBaradei to his
International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna.
The United States has said the weekend visit is crucial in
deciding if Iraq is cooperating with weapons inspections.
Iraq said U.N. inspectors held on Thursday their first
private interview with an Iraqi scientist linked to previous
banned weapons programmes.
The interview followed U.N. demands that inspectors be
allowed to interview scientists on their own without Iraqi
officials present.
But Iraq has so far refused to allow U2 spyplanes to overfly
its territory -- a key sticking point.
On Friday, Blix welcomed the private interview with the
scientist, but said he wanted to see "a lot more" during his
weekend visit to Iraq.
"We want to see disarmament of Iraq through the inspection
process," he said in a speech in Vienna to new weapons
inspectors being sent to Iraq. "It requires active cooperation
from Iraq, not on process but on substance."
((Reporting by Michele Kambas; editing by Charles Dick; Reuters
Messaging charles.dick.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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nL07194460
07-Feb-2003 15:53:48 GMT
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