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American Morning
Interview with Melissa Fleming
Aired October 01, 2002 - 08:14 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We want to get to Vienna and Baghdad this morning on Iraq. Officials from Iraq and the U.N. encouraged so far, they say, by their talks about weapons inspections. In Vienna today, a second round of closed door talks now under way.
Christiane Amanpour, our chief international correspondent, watching things on the ground there, and joins us live with an update.
What are you hearing, Christiane?
Hello and good afternoon.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon.
Well, today is meant to be the day that these talks end and obviously everybody is hoping here that they end with an agreement, at least on practical arrangements for the weapons inspectors to go back and do their work. Obviously, this is coming as there is a heated political debate about which way a U.N. Security Council resolution may go and whether the U.N. weapons inspection mandate changes.
We're joined now by Melissa Fleming, who is the spokeswoman for the IAEA, the international nuclear watchdog body, who is also hosting these talks and important in monitoring Iraq's nuclear program.
Colin Powell, secretary of state, has said this is all well and good what's happening here, good luck to you, but the inspectors won't be going anywhere unless there is a new Security Council resolution.
Is this an empty exercise?
MELISSA FLEMING, IAEA SPOKESMAN: Absolutely not. We need to go through this exercise. Our inspectors could very well go back and we have to operate under that assumption, that they are going to go back. These steps need to be taken. We need the very practical arrangements to be settled before we get back on the ground. And if the Security Council does give us new directives in addition to our existing mandate, then, of course, we will take these on board.
AMANPOUR: What about these very sensitive issues that everybody wants to know about, the so-called presidential sites? Are they or are they not up for discussion here?
FLEMING: They are not being negotiated here. This is something that is being taken up in New York. We are looking into access to sites, to other types of sites, sensitive sites, as they're called, and other issues of access, procedural issues of how our inspectors are going to get the doors open for them when they arrive at a particular site. Can they have access to the people they need to have access to and interview them, etc.?
AMANPOUR: Now, if there is a new, tougher Security Council resolution, obviously some of these details will remain the same -- hotel accommodations, the number of inspectors, things like that.
FLEMING: Right.
AMANPOUR: But others will inevitably change. All sorts of restrictions presumably will be lifted, restrictions that you have been operating under. How will you then go back to the Iraqis or how do you think that they will react to that?
FLEMING: We have to really see what comes out of these resolutions in New York. As it stands now, they wouldn't have a tremendous impact on the practical arrangements that are being discussed here. When we go back, we need to know that we can operate logistically. We need to know that we have security and we need to know that our inspectors can operate safely. And these are just fundamentals that have to be agreed one way or the other before we go back, resolution enhancement or no resolution.
AMANPOUR: Now, we were told yesterday that the first day of talks went relatively well, that there was a positive atmosphere, that you believe Iraq has come here to make an agreement. In the interim, they have obviously had consultations with Baghdad. Today's meeting started late and it is now adjourned for a couple of hours. What do you think is going on? Do you think, is there a sticking point?
FLEMING: Well, a number of these issues are sensitive and they're difficult. And they'/re, as in every diplomatic meeting, there are often breaks, there are often consultations, there's often time to, you know, huddle and decide, you know, what comes next. I think only at the end of this day can we really determine, you know, whether everything was agreed, can we see eye to eye on all the points that we laid on the table.
AMANPOUR: Melissa Fleming, thank you very much, indeed.
And so they are expecting today to be the last day of these talks and we will have the press conference at the end of the day when they become available -- back to you, Bill.
HEMMER: Christiane, thank you.
Christiane Amanpour in Vienna. That's the view from Austria.
Now to Iraq now.
As President Bush looks for support in Congress and in the U.N., Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz in Turkey now trying to win backing for Iraq from the international community, specifically from the Arab world, as well, in addition to Turkey.
Rula Amin in the Iraqi capital covering the showdown for us today -- Rula, hello.
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
The Iraqis are saying they are trying to do everything possible to make this work, but they accuse the United States of trying to derail the return of the inspectors here in order to keep that issue as a pretext in order to launch an attack against Iraq.
Just less than an hour ago, Iraqi television showed a meeting for the Iraqi cabinet, headed by the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein. And there was a very strongly worded statement that came out from that meeting. The statement said what else do they want? We have -- referring to themselves -- that after Iraq had accepted the return of the weapons inspectors, why is it now that the U.S. is pushing the Security Council to issue new resolutions?
What they are saying is that if the Americans think that by beating the drums of war they are going to pressure Iraq to compromise or to give up its rights, rights that Iraq is entitled to according to the U.N. charter, they are wrong. And they warn that Iraq will not accept what is termed here as unacceptable.
They are referring to the tougher U.N. resolution the U.S. is trying to have the Security Council issue. And what the Iraqis are saying is that they will not accept any new resolution if it has measures that they term as harmful to Iraq and Iraqis -- Bill.
HEMMER: Thank you, Rula.
Rula Amin again in Baghdad and Christiane Amanpour back in Vienna.
Stay with us here on CNN for the very latest on this issue. In fact, next hour we'll talk with Senator John McCain from Arizona about his thoughts today. And tune into "Showdown Iraq" with Wolf Blitzer every day, Monday through Friday, noon Eastern Time, of course, here on CNN.
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 October 1, 2002 - 08:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We want to get to Vienna and Baghdad this morning on Iraq. Officials from Iraq and the U.N. encouraged so far, they say, by their talks about weapons inspections. In Vienna today, a second round of closed door talks now under way.
Christiane Amanpour, our chief international correspondent, watching things on the ground there, and joins us live with an update.
What are you hearing, Christiane?
Hello and good afternoon.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon.
Well, today is meant to be the day that these talks end and obviously everybody is hoping here that they end with an agreement, at least on practical arrangements for the weapons inspectors to go back and do their work. Obviously, this is coming as there is a heated political debate about which way a U.N. Security Council resolution may go and whether the U.N. weapons inspection mandate changes.
We're joined now by Melissa Fleming, who is the spokeswoman for the IAEA, the international nuclear watchdog body, who is also hosting these talks and important in monitoring Iraq's nuclear program.
Colin Powell, secretary of state, has said this is all well and good what's happening here, good luck to you, but the inspectors won't be going anywhere unless there is a new Security Council resolution.
Is this an empty exercise?
MELISSA FLEMING, IAEA SPOKESMAN: Absolutely not. We need to go through this exercise. Our inspectors could very well go back and we have to operate under that assumption, that they are going to go back. These steps need to be taken. We need the very practical arrangements to be settled before we get back on the ground. And if the Security Council does give us new directives in addition to our existing mandate, then, of course, we will take these on board.
AMANPOUR: What about these very sensitive issues that everybody wants to know about, the so-called presidential sites? Are they or are they not up for discussion here?
FLEMING: They are not being negotiated here. This is something that is being taken up in New York. We are looking into access to sites, to other types of sites, sensitive sites, as they're called, and other issues of access, procedural issues of how our inspectors are going to get the doors open for them when they arrive at a particular site. Can they have access to the people they need to have access to and interview them, etc.?
AMANPOUR: Now, if there is a new, tougher Security Council resolution, obviously some of these details will remain the same -- hotel accommodations, the number of inspectors, things like that.
FLEMING: Right.
AMANPOUR: But others will inevitably change. All sorts of restrictions presumably will be lifted, restrictions that you have been operating under. How will you then go back to the Iraqis or how do you think that they will react to that?
FLEMING: We have to really see what comes out of these resolutions in New York. As it stands now, they wouldn't have a tremendous impact on the practical arrangements that are being discussed here. When we go back, we need to know that we can operate logistically. We need to know that we have security and we need to know that our inspectors can operate safely. And these are just fundamentals that have to be agreed one way or the other before we go back, resolution enhancement or no resolution.
AMANPOUR: Now, we were told yesterday that the first day of talks went relatively well, that there was a positive atmosphere, that you believe Iraq has come here to make an agreement. In the interim, they have obviously had consultations with Baghdad. Today's meeting started late and it is now adjourned for a couple of hours. What do you think is going on? Do you think, is there a sticking point?
FLEMING: Well, a number of these issues are sensitive and they're difficult. And they'/re, as in every diplomatic meeting, there are often breaks, there are often consultations, there's often time to, you know, huddle and decide, you know, what comes next. I think only at the end of this day can we really determine, you know, whether everything was agreed, can we see eye to eye on all the points that we laid on the table.
AMANPOUR: Melissa Fleming, thank you very much, indeed.
And so they are expecting today to be the last day of these talks and we will have the press conference at the end of the day when they become available -- back to you, Bill.
HEMMER: Christiane, thank you.
Christiane Amanpour in Vienna. That's the view from Austria.
Now to Iraq now.
As President Bush looks for support in Congress and in the U.N., Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz in Turkey now trying to win backing for Iraq from the international community, specifically from the Arab world, as well, in addition to Turkey.
Rula Amin in the Iraqi capital covering the showdown for us today -- Rula, hello.
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
The Iraqis are saying they are trying to do everything possible to make this work, but they accuse the United States of trying to derail the return of the inspectors here in order to keep that issue as a pretext in order to launch an attack against Iraq.
Just less than an hour ago, Iraqi television showed a meeting for the Iraqi cabinet, headed by the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein. And there was a very strongly worded statement that came out from that meeting. The statement said what else do they want? We have -- referring to themselves -- that after Iraq had accepted the return of the weapons inspectors, why is it now that the U.S. is pushing the Security Council to issue new resolutions?
What they are saying is that if the Americans think that by beating the drums of war they are going to pressure Iraq to compromise or to give up its rights, rights that Iraq is entitled to according to the U.N. charter, they are wrong. And they warn that Iraq will not accept what is termed here as unacceptable.
They are referring to the tougher U.N. resolution the U.S. is trying to have the Security Council issue. And what the Iraqis are saying is that they will not accept any new resolution if it has measures that they term as harmful to Iraq and Iraqis -- Bill.
HEMMER: Thank you, Rula.
Rula Amin again in Baghdad and Christiane Amanpour back in Vienna.
Stay with us here on CNN for the very latest on this issue. In fact, next hour we'll talk with Senator John McCain from Arizona about his thoughts today. And tune into "Showdown Iraq" with Wolf Blitzer every day, Monday through Friday, noon Eastern Time, of course, here on CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
