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Aired May 08, 2003 - 13:20   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: In a speech last night, Secretary of State Colin Powell said lifting sanctions against Iraq could help mend rifts between the United States and some of its European allies. As you'll recall, the debate leading up to the war produced some ill will between the U.S. and France and Germany, in particular, to say the least.
Joining us from New York to talk a little bit more about this is Javier Solona. He is the former NATO secretary general. Currently, he is the European Union's foreign policy representative.

Mr. Solona, good to have you with us.

Can you hear me, sir?

JAVIER SOLONA, FMR. NATO SECY.-GEN.: Yes, I can hear you.

O'BRIEN: OK. Tell me what you anticipate in the U.N. Security Council tomorrow. Will sanctions be lifted, and how do you feel about that?

SOLONA: Well, I think with the information we have at this point, which is not completed, I see that the spirit of everybody is constructive, it's positive, and I hope very much tomorrow we'll have a good debate in the Security Council in order to have the sanctions lifted for the benefit of the Iraqi people.

But it's too hard to say how things are going to develop, because at this point, there are competition among different capitals. But it's still clear a reading of the resolutions have not been taking place. We'll see today how things develop, and tomorrow we'll the formal session at the Security Council how it goes.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Solona, do you have the sense that there is perhaps less of an appetite to get into a heated debate with the United States at this juncture, perhaps it's time to patch things over between Europe and the United States?

SOLONA: I think that the spirit in which everybody's going to contribute to these debates, they're going to contribute in a constructive spirit in order to see if, in a short period of time, the resolution can be approved. That's what I sense that everybody has in mind.

O'BRIEN: Yesterday, you were talking about asking and imploring the U.S. to treat Europe as a whole, this term of disaggregation. The sense of dividing European nations and treating them individually is something that came out of this debate leading up to the war in Iraq. How real a concern is that among European nations? And are they really surprised, given the level of rhetoric that occurred prior to the war?

SOLONA: Well, I think that European Union is an institution, and as President Bush has said on many occasions, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in his speech. The speech in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), whenever Europe is united, the European Union in Europe grows more secure. Therefore, the unity of the European Unit and the relations of that unity, European Union, with the United States, is fundamental for the global security. And we have a good number of...

O'BRIEN: Mr. Solona, let me just ask you, though, how unified is the European Union at this point?

SOLONA: The European Union is unified. They've had two members from the Security Council, different opinions about a particular issue, the war in Iraq, and more particularly, not about the disarmament of Saddam Hussein, but about the manner that could be done. It has been difference of opinion, well known, and we would like now with the new resolution to try to reunify the Security Council, and to try to reunify the thinking of the members of the Security Council about the future.

O'BRIEN: What about the future as it relates to the Iraqi people? Is there some concern among the European Union that if there is a strong debate and a desire to block the lifting of sanctions, that Europeans might look as if they're harming or punishing in some way the Iraqi people.

SOLONA: Let me be very clear -- nobody wants to maintain the sanctions. Everybody wants to lift the sanctions, as you said, in order to benefit the people of Iraq. So they don't -- do not have the wrong idea that anybody's going to object to lifting the sanctions. The question is, the global intent of the resolution. But I'm sure the content will be such it will be allowed the resolution to be approved in a short period of time. That's the mood I think everybody in the Security Council feels today.

O'BRIEN: Javier Solana is the foreign policy chief for the European Union. He joins us from the United Nations in New York. Thank you very much for being with us, sir.

SOLONA: Thank 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 8, 2003 - 13:20   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In a speech last night, Secretary of State Colin Powell said lifting sanctions against Iraq could help mend rifts between the United States and some of its European allies. As you'll recall, the debate leading up to the war produced some ill will between the U.S. and France and Germany, in particular, to say the least.
Joining us from New York to talk a little bit more about this is Javier Solona. He is the former NATO secretary general. Currently, he is the European Union's foreign policy representative.

Mr. Solona, good to have you with us.

Can you hear me, sir?

JAVIER SOLONA, FMR. NATO SECY.-GEN.: Yes, I can hear you.

O'BRIEN: OK. Tell me what you anticipate in the U.N. Security Council tomorrow. Will sanctions be lifted, and how do you feel about that?

SOLONA: Well, I think with the information we have at this point, which is not completed, I see that the spirit of everybody is constructive, it's positive, and I hope very much tomorrow we'll have a good debate in the Security Council in order to have the sanctions lifted for the benefit of the Iraqi people.

But it's too hard to say how things are going to develop, because at this point, there are competition among different capitals. But it's still clear a reading of the resolutions have not been taking place. We'll see today how things develop, and tomorrow we'll the formal session at the Security Council how it goes.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Solona, do you have the sense that there is perhaps less of an appetite to get into a heated debate with the United States at this juncture, perhaps it's time to patch things over between Europe and the United States?

SOLONA: I think that the spirit in which everybody's going to contribute to these debates, they're going to contribute in a constructive spirit in order to see if, in a short period of time, the resolution can be approved. That's what I sense that everybody has in mind.

O'BRIEN: Yesterday, you were talking about asking and imploring the U.S. to treat Europe as a whole, this term of disaggregation. The sense of dividing European nations and treating them individually is something that came out of this debate leading up to the war in Iraq. How real a concern is that among European nations? And are they really surprised, given the level of rhetoric that occurred prior to the war?

SOLONA: Well, I think that European Union is an institution, and as President Bush has said on many occasions, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in his speech. The speech in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), whenever Europe is united, the European Union in Europe grows more secure. Therefore, the unity of the European Unit and the relations of that unity, European Union, with the United States, is fundamental for the global security. And we have a good number of...

O'BRIEN: Mr. Solona, let me just ask you, though, how unified is the European Union at this point?

SOLONA: The European Union is unified. They've had two members from the Security Council, different opinions about a particular issue, the war in Iraq, and more particularly, not about the disarmament of Saddam Hussein, but about the manner that could be done. It has been difference of opinion, well known, and we would like now with the new resolution to try to reunify the Security Council, and to try to reunify the thinking of the members of the Security Council about the future.

O'BRIEN: What about the future as it relates to the Iraqi people? Is there some concern among the European Union that if there is a strong debate and a desire to block the lifting of sanctions, that Europeans might look as if they're harming or punishing in some way the Iraqi people.

SOLONA: Let me be very clear -- nobody wants to maintain the sanctions. Everybody wants to lift the sanctions, as you said, in order to benefit the people of Iraq. So they don't -- do not have the wrong idea that anybody's going to object to lifting the sanctions. The question is, the global intent of the resolution. But I'm sure the content will be such it will be allowed the resolution to be approved in a short period of time. That's the mood I think everybody in the Security Council feels today.

O'BRIEN: Javier Solana is the foreign policy chief for the European Union. He joins us from the United Nations in New York. Thank you very much for being with us, sir.

SOLONA: Thank 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