U.S. official lobbying Africans on Iraq
WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. official met Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos in Luanda on Thursday to make the U.S. case for a strong U.N. Security Council resolution against Iraq, the State Department said.
Angola, Cameroon and Guinea, all of which are on the U.N. Security Council, were among 52 African states who voted on Thursday in Paris to back France's push to give weapons inspectors more time to work in Iraq. The nations termed their joint statement an "alternative to war."
The official who traveled to Angola, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter Kansteiner, will also visit Cameroon and Guinea, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a briefing.
"He's discussing with them, as members of the Security Council, what actions the Security Council can take to make clear that the Security Council will stand up for itself and stand by its resolution (on Iraq)," he added.
The United States plans to propose next week a new Security Council resolution declaring Iraq in "material breach" of its obligation to comply with U.N. disarmament demands and threatening serious consequences for noncompliance.
Most members of the Security Council have spoken in favor of giving the U.N. weapon inspectors in Iraq more time to continue their work. The United States says time is irrelevant as long as Iraq does not show willingness to do what it is told.
Guinea, Cameroon and Angola are temporary members on the 15-nation U.N. Security Council but their votes could prove decisive. France already has the backing of fellow Council members China, Germany, Russia and Syria.
Boucher said the United States was not offering the African governments anything in particular to support the U.S. view.
"We have broad relationships with countries but we don't offer quid pro quos," the spokesman added.
Kansteiner arrived in Angola after visits to Britain and South Africa, Boucher said.
02/20/03 17:10 ET
