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CNN Live Event/Special

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Talks to Reporters

Aired May 09, 2003 - 13:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's head up to the United Nations, shall we. Ambassador John Negroponte, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is talking to reporters after that U.N. Security Council discussion about the U.S. proposal to lift sanctions aimed at Iraq.
Generally, he's been saying it's been well received.

Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JOHN NEGROPONTE, U.S. AMB. TO U.N: ... instead of looking back at some of the acrimonious exchanges of the past.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

NEGROPONTE: Well, I think we'll just have to wait and see. But, obviously, there's a great deal of interest in the definition of the United Nations role. I think there were many questions with respect to the lifting of sanctions. There were observations with respect to the fact that there's no reference in the body of the resolution to the role of UNMOVIC or IAEA. I think that question was raised by a number of different countries.

QUESTION: Ambassador, did you come back to the council because you felt you had to or because you felt you wanted to?

NEGROPONTE: Well, I think this is a subject that, after all, has been on the agenda of the council since 1990, the question of Iraq. And going forward, I think that the situation has now dramatically altered and a way has to be found, first of all, to disentangle and disengage the United Nations from many of the resolutions that were passed under entirely different circumstances.

So, yes, both we had to and we wanted to.

O'BRIEN: Ambassador John Negroponte, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, coming out of a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, where generally the U.S. proposal to lift sanctions, U.N. sanctions, focused on Iraq, he says were well received. The term he used were many people on the Security Council felt it was "forward-looking." Obviously, not the debate we saw prior to the war. We're watching that story closely for you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired May 9, 2003 - 13:49   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's head up to the United Nations, shall we. Ambassador John Negroponte, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is talking to reporters after that U.N. Security Council discussion about the U.S. proposal to lift sanctions aimed at Iraq.
Generally, he's been saying it's been well received.

Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JOHN NEGROPONTE, U.S. AMB. TO U.N: ... instead of looking back at some of the acrimonious exchanges of the past.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

NEGROPONTE: Well, I think we'll just have to wait and see. But, obviously, there's a great deal of interest in the definition of the United Nations role. I think there were many questions with respect to the lifting of sanctions. There were observations with respect to the fact that there's no reference in the body of the resolution to the role of UNMOVIC or IAEA. I think that question was raised by a number of different countries.

QUESTION: Ambassador, did you come back to the council because you felt you had to or because you felt you wanted to?

NEGROPONTE: Well, I think this is a subject that, after all, has been on the agenda of the council since 1990, the question of Iraq. And going forward, I think that the situation has now dramatically altered and a way has to be found, first of all, to disentangle and disengage the United Nations from many of the resolutions that were passed under entirely different circumstances.

So, yes, both we had to and we wanted to.

O'BRIEN: Ambassador John Negroponte, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, coming out of a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, where generally the U.S. proposal to lift sanctions, U.N. sanctions, focused on Iraq, he says were well received. The term he used were many people on the Security Council felt it was "forward-looking." Obviously, not the debate we saw prior to the war. We're watching that story closely for you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com