UN-Iraq talks open in Vienna on practical arrangements for return of inspectors

Senior representatives of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) opened talks today in Vienna with Iraqi officials on practical arrangements for the return of UN weapons inspectors to the country following a nearly four-year absence.

Topics under discussion were to include entry into Iraq and the accommodation of inspectors; the UN's headquarters in Baghdad and movement inside the country; the security of inspectors; and the taking of samples as well as their transport out of Iraq, UNMOVIC Executive Chairman Hans Blix told reporters as he entered the Vienna International Centre, where the meeting is being held.

At the conclusion of today's session, Mr. Blix told the press that participants had covered a first reading of all the issues on the agenda. "We will revert to continue tomorrow - many issues have been clarified - and we will continue" before wrapping up tomorrow afternoon, he added.

Asked about the mood of the discussions, he said it was a "very businesslike atmosphere, knowledgeable; everyone there in the room knows something about this subject."

When he entered the meeting, the Executive Chairman said “the purpose of the talks is that we’d like to ensure that if and when inspections come about we will not have clashes inside.” He added that it was better to work out the issues “outside in advance.”

"We even said we would not deploy inspectors to Iraq until we have had talks about these things," Mr. Blix stressed.

Asked whether there would be any limits on the sites UN inspectors could access, he replied, "No, I am not aware of any such places."

The Executive Chairman, who is scheduled to report to the Security Council in New York on Thursday, told the press that "it is the Security Council that wants to have the first news and therefore I am a little restrained in what I will say here."