Annan Sure Security Council Will Back Iraq Deal Details Still Must Be Worked Out, But U.N. Chief Already Praising Involvement Of U.S., Others

Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday that he had the Security Council’s general approval for his agreement with Saddam Hussein, which gives United Nations weapons inspectors unrestricted access in Iraq, and that he expected the Council’s unanimous support once the details were worked out.

But the United States, skeptical that Iraq will keep its word, insisted that some ambiguities involving the composition and authority of the weapons inspection teams be cleared up and that the promised access be tested promptly.

Annan, who returned Tuesday to a hero’s welcome at the United Nations, told reporters that “this agreement can and should work” because he forged it personally with Saddam.

“In the years that the United Nations has been present in Baghdad, many agreements have been signed, but none have been negotiated and approved with Saddam Hussein,” Annan said. “This one was negotiated with the president himself, and the leadership has got the message that he wants cooperation, he wants it done.”

Annan described Saddam as calm, well-informed and decisive during their private two-hour meeting on Sunday.

“I think I can do business with him,” Annan said, “and I think he was serious.”

Annan, who looked exhausted, was greeted upon his return from Paris by hundreds of cheering staff members who packed the Secretariat lobby.

The secretary-general used the occasion to thank the United States and its allies for assembling the military force in the Persian Gulf region that provided the muscle behind his negotiations. He said that President Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain were “perfect U.N. peacekeepers” who knew that “the best way to use force is to show it in order not to use it.”

He also described President Jacques Chirac of France, which opposed resorting to force, as “very effective” at working with other governments to find a diplomatic solution.

He went on to tell his staff: “There were millions of people around the world rooting for a peaceful solution and praying for us. This is why in Baghdad I said you should never underestimate the power of prayer.”

Within minutes of his arrival, Annan briefed the Security Council on the agreement and solicited the views of all 15 members in a closed session that lasted nearly three hours.

“I had a general sense of approval from the membership as to the agreement that I signed in Baghdad,” Annan said afterward. “Obviously there are details which will have to be worked out, and explanations that must be given. But none of it gives me and my team any difficulties, and I am convinced that once the explanations are given, we will have a unanimous and strong Council support.”