PRESS STAKEOUT WITH
DANISH PRIME MINISTER ANDERS RASMUSSEN

FEDERAL NEWS SERVICE

March 25, 2002

. . .

Q Mr. Prime Minister, a question in English, if I may.

PRIME MIN. RASMUSSEN: Yes, sir. You're welcome.

Q What were the primary subjects that you and President Bush discussed? Did he ask Denmark for any specific help in the war on terrorism? What did he say about Iraq? And how will Denmark view any action against Iraq?

PRIME MIN. RASMUSSEN: Well, that was a lot of questions. (Chuckles.) Let me take them one by one.

The main issues during our meeting were, firstly, the international fight against terrorism; secondly, European questions, mainly a possible future enlargement of NATO; and thirdly, we had the opportunity to exchange views on the relation between the poor and the rich countries in continuation of the speech President Bush made in Monterrey recently. These were the three main issues.

Firstly, fight against international terrorism: The president appreciated the Danish contribution to the international operation Enduring Freedom. I informed the president that Denmark has recently decided to prolong the stay of our soldiers in Afghanistan, and the president appreciated that.

In connection with terrorism, we discussed Iraq, of course. The president informed me about his attitude towards Iraq and Saddam Hussein. I stressed that, first of all, we should ensure that international inspectors could get free access to Iraq in order to investigate and make sure that Saddam Hussein is not developing weapons of mass destruction.

In continuation of that, we discussed the general situation in the Middle East. I appreciated the American efforts to restart the peace process, and I emphasized that progress in the peace process is essential in maintaining the international coalition against terror.

. . .

Q You said that the first step towards Iraq should be a reinstitution of -- reintroduction of weapon inspectors. What about the next step?

PRIME MIN. RASMUSSEN: Well, we didn't discuss the next step or the possible next step. I think that it is crucial that Saddam Hussein allow international inspectors to go to Iraq without any restrictions, without limitations. It's obvious to me that there is a danger. We all know that Saddam Hussein is the only leader in the world who has used chemical weapons against his own people.

We know that he has violated several United Nations security resolutions and he doesn't abide by the U.N. resolution according to which he is obliged to destroy all weapons of mass destruction.

Q If the weapons inspectors are not let in, would you regard that as sufficient excuse for taking military action against Iraq, then?

PRIME MIN. RASMUSSEN: Well, I'm not going to discuss a hypothetical situation or possible military actions.

. . .

Q Did you discuss of the case of the former Iraqi general who's now residing in Denmark? And the U.S. has been showing interest in getting him over here.

PRIME MIN. RASMUSSEN: No, we didn't discuss that issue.

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