IRAQ: UN weapons inspectors under heavy pressure to leave

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Att.Editors: The following item is from the Qatar News Agency (QNA)

DOHA, Feb 20 2003 (IPS) - Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said today that the UN weapons inspectors in Iraq have been subjected to heavy pressure to force them to leave Iraq or to present reports that justify war against Baghdad.

In a report from Moscow, Al Jezeera television network said Ivanov confirmed that Moscow had received information that the inspectors had been under intense pressure to leave Iraq as they did in 1998 or to present a report to the UN that justifies the use of force. He urged the inspectors to continue their activity objectively and called upon the international community to provide all possible assistance to them.