Iraq destroyed 10 of the missiles over the weekend, after they were found by UN inspectors to have a range that exceeds UN-set limits.
But a Downing Street spokesman told a regular press briefing the real "test" was not whether Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was destroying missiles which he inaccurately declared to the UN late last year.
"Let's also focus on the things we can't see," the spokesman said. "They're equally important." Those "things" include 8,500 liters of anthrax, 360 tonnes of bulk chemical warfare agent, 3,000 tonnes of precursor chemicals, 1.5 tonne of VX nerve agent and 6,500 chemical bombs, he said.
"In 15 weeks, the (UN) inspectors have been unable to close a single outstanding issue," he said.
Britain, along with the United States and Spain, has tabled a draft resolution at the UN Security Council declaring Iraq to be in final breach of a dozen years of UN demands to give up any weapons of mass destruction.
If that resolution is put to a vote, likely within days of chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix's next report to the Council on Friday, then US and British forces could invade Iraq almost immediately.
The Iraq crisis was expected to dominate a meeting Tuesday at Downing Street between Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov.
"It's not impossible that the prime minister (Tony Blair) might pop in," the spokesman said.
Blair discussed Iraq over the telephone Sunday with Chile's President Ricardo Lagos, whose nation has a seat on the UN Security Council. He will be speaking to other leaders in the coming days.
Blair has also been in touch with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who is proposing that the UN fix a firm date -- March 28 -- for Iraq to comply with a detailed list of UN disarmament demands.
The proposal is seen in Ottawa as a way of heading off a deep split over Iraq at the United Nations between Washington and Paris, although both capitals have so far given it a cool response.
Source : Sapa-AFP
EMAIL THIS ARTICLE SAVE THIS ARTICLE FEEDBACK
To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
