“You cannot imagine a European leader using a phrase like axis of evil,” Solana

LONDON, January 27 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - War against Iraq is not justified in the current circumstances, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in an interview published Monday, January 27.

"Military action represents a failure of diplomacy," Solana said in Monday's Daily Telegraph newspaper.

"Europeans in big numbers think that the last resort moment has not arrived. I do not think the moment of last resort has arrived.

"I think it would be far better to have military action with the support of the UN," he added.

Solana stressed that Baghdad's co-operation with UN weapons inspectors "should be total both from Saddam Hussein and from the international community," Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

"If they (the inspectors) say they need more resources then more resources should be given, if they say they need more time more time should be given."

Non-co-operation in a small way by the Iraqi leader would not justify war, Solana said in his comments published on the day that the weapons inspectors deliver a key report the United Nations on two months of operations in Iraq.

North Korea is a higher priority

"North Korea is a higher priority in the sense that they already have weapons of mass destruction," he said. "North Korea is a very serious problem that has to be dealt with rapidly."

Solana highlighted cultural differences between Europe and the United States, alluding to terms used by U.S. President George W. Bush.

"The Europeans and the Americans are cousins, not brothers. Sometimes terminology has a different meaning for different people - 'crusade', for example, means different things to different groups - and if you want to construct a coalition you have to attempt not to step on the feet of anybody.

"You cannot imagine a European leader using a phrase like 'axis of evil'."

Warning that military action in Iraq could not be seen as part of the wider war against terrorism, Solana said the UN should be a vehicle for tackling Saddam Hussein.

He also rejected the claim by Bush that non-co-operation by the Iraqi leader would classify as a breach of the UN resolution 1441.

"Die is cast"

In Geneva, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said Monday that the "die is cast" and chances of a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi crisis were slim, AFP said.

In an interview with Le Temps newspaper, Calmy-Rey said that as far as Switzerland was concerned, she felt part of the "old Europe", criticized by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for its opposition to U.S. plans to attack Iraq.

The Swiss minister voiced concerns about respect for international humanitarian law during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Saturday, January 25, in the alpine resort of Davos where political and business leaders are taking part in the World Economic Forum.

Europeans had, she said, developed "attention to human dignity which distinguishes us from the U.S." following wars on the European continent.

"It's a question of a deep cultural difference, which is not due to current circumstances," she told the newspaper.

Asked about Switzerland's attitude towards any possible conflict, Calmy-Rey said that without a new UN resolution, Bern "would give no aid, either actively nor passively" to the United States.

‘key report’

Meanwhile, the chief UN weapons inspectors prepared Monday to deliver a crucial report to the Security Council amid mounting U.S. threats to wage a solo war on Iraq.

Hans Blix and Mohammed ElBaradei were scheduled to appear before the top UN body at 10:30 am (1530 GMT) for what is expected to be a progress report on their two months of work hunting down Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction.

U.S. ‘sovereign right’ to attack Iraq alone

Secretary of State Colin Powell toughened the rhetoric on Sunday, January 26, insisting that Washington had a "sovereign right to take military action on Iraq alone or in a coalition of the willing" despite vocal opposition across Europe.

"This is not about (UN weapons) inspectors finding smoking guns. It is about Iraq's failure to tell the inspectors where to find its weapons of mass terror," he told political and business leaders in the Swiss resort of Davos.

"Today not a single nation, not one, trusts Saddam and his regime," Powell said. "Iraq attempted to conceal with volume what it lacked in veracity. It has failed the test."

The United States "will act even if others are not prepared to join us," Powell, who claimed that a dozen countries were prepared to support Washington, told the World Economic Forum.

The mounting U.S. threats have come despite ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), urging weapons inspectors to be given more time to carry out their mission.

"We believe that we have been making some progress but we also believe that we have work to do," he said in Vienna before boarding a plane for New York.

His comments were echoed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said in a BBC interview that inspectors should be given more time, but spoke of weeks rather than months.

Washington has faced stiff opposition from France -- a permanent Security Council member with veto power -- and Germany, which holds a temporary seat and has said it would not support a UN resolution allowing armed conflict.

EU foreign ministers, including four Security Council members, were to meet in Brussels hours ahead of the crucial UN report on Iraq.