*EPF102 01/08/01
U.S. Will Maintain Pressure on Iraq, Albright Says
(Secretary of State pays farewell call on U.N. secretary general) (620)

United Nations -- The United States will continue to press Iraq to destroy all its weapons of mass destruction as a condition of lifting economic sanctions, even after the end of the Clinton administration January 20, current U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said.

After a meeting with Secretary General Kofi Annan January 8, Albright said that during her meeting with the U.N. leader she "made clear the importance of the sanctions regime and holding it together."

"In my conversations with my successor, Mr. [Colin] Powell has also made clear he believes in the sanctions regime," Albright said. "I think there should not be a lot of joy in Baghdad over a change in the administration."

Asked about reports that Great Britain intends to pull out British planes that patrol, along with U.S. planes, the so-called no-fly zone in southern Iraq, the secretary said that based on her contacts with the British Government, "as far as I understand that is incorrect."

Albright was at the United Nations for a final visit with the secretary general before she leaves office on January 20. The secretary said she reviewed the list of issues she and Annan had worked on over the past eight years. Before becoming secretary of state, Albright was the chief U.S. representative to the United Nations. While still in that position, Albright led the opposition in the Security Council to a second term for then Secretary General Boutros-Boutros Ghali in 1996. At the time of his selection Annan, who has spent the majority of his career at the United Nations, was undersecretary general for peacekeeping affairs.

Albright said that her 40-minute meeting "really re-emphasizes in my mind how great it is that he did become secretary general." Calling him "a man who is on top of all the subjects and is bold and imaginative," Albright said Annan "has been a brilliant secretary general."

Asked about U.S. support for a second five-year term for Annan, Albright said "that is up to the next group to talk about."

Albright was also questioned about Yugoslavia during her short encounter with journalists after her meeting.

Asked about the concern in NATO over the possibility of low-level radiation from depleted uranium-tipped weapons used during bombing raids on Yugoslavia in 1999, Albright said that "there is absolutely no proof that there is a connection" between the shells and illness among NATO ground troops who were stationed in Kosovo after the war.

"We have forces there also so we would have been concerned about it," Albright continued. "I think that the scientific-based aspect of this shows that there is no connection. Obviously NATO is taking a look at it though in order to be very careful."

The secretary also said that it is "very important" that former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic stand trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague for alleged war crimes.

"It is very important that justice be carried out," she said. "He committed international war crimes so international justice has to take place." She pointed out that "the statute of limitations does not run out" and the war crimes tribunal chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte is pressing the issue.

Albright said she believes Milosevic should be tried by the international tribunal in The Hague and not by a Yugoslav court.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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