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To: uu who wrote (9992)	2/22/1998 3:43:00 PM
From: shane forbes	Respond to of 25814

OK! Looks like, the chances are good that we are not going to blow Iraq to smithereens: ' ' ' ---- BAGHDAD, Iraq (Feb. 22) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Saddam Hussein settled the last major obstacle for opening presidential palaces to U.N. arms inspectors, a diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity said Sunday. The two sides still had to iron out the language of an agreement, which would likely avert a U.S. military strike on Iraq. Annan and Iraq's deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, met late Sunday to agree on wording of a text for the secretary-general to take back to the Security Council. ''A deal was reached with the president,'' said the diplomat who was familiar with the talks. ''All the major issues have been resolved.'' The agreement came during a three-hour meeting Sunday between Annan and Saddam at the Republican Palace, one of the eight presidential sites which Iraq had declared off-limits to U.N. weapons inspectors. Annan met the Iraqi leader after three days of meetings with Aziz failed to resolve the last major obstacle - Iraq's demand for a time limit on inspections of presidential compounds. The United States and other members of the Security Council had rejected any deadline for the inspections, which are trying to determine whether Iraq has destroyed all its long-range missiles and mass destruction weapons. One Iraqi official, who insisted his named not be used, was asked whether there was a deal. He replied, ''Yes.'' A signing ceremony was planned for Monday morning. Any deal Annan reaches must be endorsed by the United States, which has said it reserves the right to refuse any agreement that it believes undermines the authority of the Special Commission. Defense Secretary William Cohen, speaking Sunday on NBC-TV's ''Meet the Press,'' reiterated the U.S. position that there should be no time limits for inspections. ''To talk about setting time deadlines when in fact we have seen seven years of delay and obstruction and obfuscation is not really a prescription for success here,'' he said. National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, speaking on ''Fox News Sunday,'' said any arrangement reached with Saddam ''must allow for unfettered access'' to all sites. In Britain, Foreign Secretary Robert Cook told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that said Saddam ''would be extremely unwise'' not to use Annan's visit to reach a deal. The U.N. secretary-general and three aides left around noon in a government limousine for the palace to meet the Iraqi leader. The official Iraqi News Agency said Annan and Saddam met privately for two hours, and it reported the atmosphere was ''positive.'' But it gave no other details. Television footage showed Annan greeting Saddam, dressed in a dark, double-breasted suit, and Aziz, who wore a military uniform. Earlier, Annan and his eight-member team negotiated with Iraqi officials around the clock Saturday in a series of intensive meetings which ended at 2 a.m. Sunday. After a few hours sleep, the talks resumed Sunday morning at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry. After that, Annan met Saddam. In a commentary Sunday, the newspaper Al-Thawra, which reflects the thinking of the ruling Arab Baath Socialist Party, called the demand for unrestricted access ''illogical and unrealistic.'' Iraq has maintained that granting such access to the very homes of the president trample on its dignity and national sovereignty. Iraq has maintained that it has complied with orders to destroy proscribed weapons. But it claims the United States and Britain have manipulated the inspections to justify maintaining the sanctions. Annan had said he wanted Iraq to sign an agreement which he will take back to the Security Council after he leaves Iraq on Monday. The agreement would be between the secretary-general and the Iraqi government. The council, which controls the inspection program, would have the right to accept or reject it. The United States has insisted that any agreement adhere to two principles: unrestricted access to all sites and the integrity and independence of the U.N. Special Commission. As a permanent council member, the United States can veto any proposal. But U.N. officials said Annan would not agree to any formula which he believed would meet objections. AP-NY-02-22-98 1427EST Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.