Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Sunday Morning

U.N. Weapons Inspectors Continue Work Inside Iraq

Aired February 23, 2003 - 09:05   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: U.N. weapons inspectors visited two sites today that have ties to Iraq's missile program. Al Samoud II missiles are produced at one of those sites. The other site is used to test missile engines, including those used in the al Samoud II.
It's also a day of diplomacy as groups come to Iraq in hopes of meeting Saddam Hussein. Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joining us now from Baghdad to explain. Good morning, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Well, some new information. We just have confirmed in the last couple of minutes an announcement of one of Iraq's television stations here saying that Russian envoy Yevgeny Primakov is in Baghdad, not saying what he's doing here. Yevgeny Primakov came to Iraq during the last Gulf War. He came because he was a very, very well known in Baghdad. He is a Middle East expert. And at that time, he did win President Saddam Hussein's confidence in working towards a peaceful resolution of the Gulf War. He is back in Baghdad, we understand that. We don't know who he's meeting with at this time.

It's interesting that he should come right now. Some of the ministers that he might expect normally to meet with are out of the country. The foreign minister is out of the country, the vice president is out of the country at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) summit in Malaysia. So possibly, he could be meeting with President Saddam Hussein. That's not clear.

What is clear, the U.N. weapons inspection mission going on, focusing on the al Samoud II missiles. Iraq has been given until the end of this next week, until Friday, March the 1st, to begin the destruction of these missiles, and it's not just the missiles. It is the guidance systems, the control systems, the propellant, the equipment that's involved in the manufacture of the missiles.

They also have to destroy some 380 missile engines that Iraq imported outside of the U.N.'s import/export controls on Iraq.

One other piece of news here today. That is a team of South African experts is arriving in Baghdad. They are bringing their experience to Iraqi officials -- South Africa, of course, went through its own disarmament process of weapons of mass destruction back in the 1990s. They're coming here to lend their experience to Iraqi officials to help the Iraqi officials show the international community that they are intent and are complying with Resolution 1441 to get rid of their weapons of mass destruction -- Heidi. COLLINS: Nic, what does the visit from the former Prime Minister Primakov to Baghdad, what does that mean for the Russo-Iraq relations? Anything to get from that?

ROBERTSON: Well, Iraq does have very strong ties, economic ties with Russia at this time. Russia does have a large number of people working within the oil industry here. Much of that work in the contracts that are agreed between Russia and Iraqi are essentially on hold because of U.N. sanctions. But it does have a large number of people in Baghdad.

It's not clear what this mission could be about. In the past, Yevgeny Primakov came here as a peace envoy coming from Russia. Not clear if that's his mission this time. There could be many, many reasons that he's in Iraq. It does come, interestingly, just days after some Russian parliamentarians were in Baghdad who met with President Saddam Hussein.

But again, too early to know what the meetings could be about and what they may bring -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, and of course, we'll keep our eye on that. Thank you so much, Nic Robertson from Baghdad this morning.

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 February 23, 2003 - 09:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: U.N. weapons inspectors visited two sites today that have ties to Iraq's missile program. Al Samoud II missiles are produced at one of those sites. The other site is used to test missile engines, including those used in the al Samoud II.
It's also a day of diplomacy as groups come to Iraq in hopes of meeting Saddam Hussein. Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joining us now from Baghdad to explain. Good morning, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Well, some new information. We just have confirmed in the last couple of minutes an announcement of one of Iraq's television stations here saying that Russian envoy Yevgeny Primakov is in Baghdad, not saying what he's doing here. Yevgeny Primakov came to Iraq during the last Gulf War. He came because he was a very, very well known in Baghdad. He is a Middle East expert. And at that time, he did win President Saddam Hussein's confidence in working towards a peaceful resolution of the Gulf War. He is back in Baghdad, we understand that. We don't know who he's meeting with at this time.

It's interesting that he should come right now. Some of the ministers that he might expect normally to meet with are out of the country. The foreign minister is out of the country, the vice president is out of the country at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) summit in Malaysia. So possibly, he could be meeting with President Saddam Hussein. That's not clear.

What is clear, the U.N. weapons inspection mission going on, focusing on the al Samoud II missiles. Iraq has been given until the end of this next week, until Friday, March the 1st, to begin the destruction of these missiles, and it's not just the missiles. It is the guidance systems, the control systems, the propellant, the equipment that's involved in the manufacture of the missiles.

They also have to destroy some 380 missile engines that Iraq imported outside of the U.N.'s import/export controls on Iraq.

One other piece of news here today. That is a team of South African experts is arriving in Baghdad. They are bringing their experience to Iraqi officials -- South Africa, of course, went through its own disarmament process of weapons of mass destruction back in the 1990s. They're coming here to lend their experience to Iraqi officials to help the Iraqi officials show the international community that they are intent and are complying with Resolution 1441 to get rid of their weapons of mass destruction -- Heidi. COLLINS: Nic, what does the visit from the former Prime Minister Primakov to Baghdad, what does that mean for the Russo-Iraq relations? Anything to get from that?

ROBERTSON: Well, Iraq does have very strong ties, economic ties with Russia at this time. Russia does have a large number of people working within the oil industry here. Much of that work in the contracts that are agreed between Russia and Iraqi are essentially on hold because of U.N. sanctions. But it does have a large number of people in Baghdad.

It's not clear what this mission could be about. In the past, Yevgeny Primakov came here as a peace envoy coming from Russia. Not clear if that's his mission this time. There could be many, many reasons that he's in Iraq. It does come, interestingly, just days after some Russian parliamentarians were in Baghdad who met with President Saddam Hussein.

But again, too early to know what the meetings could be about and what they may bring -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, and of course, we'll keep our eye on that. Thank you so much, Nic Robertson from Baghdad this morning.

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