By The Associated Press
Monday, February 23, 1998; 3:01 p.m. EST

Text of opening remarks and excerpts from news conference by the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz.

Annan statement:

I'm pleased to announce that after detailed and intensive discussions with the Iraqi authorities, culminating in a meeting with President Saddam Hussein on Sunday afternoon, I have concluded an agreement with the government of Iraq on the issue of the United Nations' weapons inspections.

In my view, the terms of this agreement, which have been concluded in writing, are acceptable and will remove a major obstacle to the full implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions.

I will serve it to the Security Council immediately upon my return to New York on Tuesday.

I would like to thank his excellency, the president, Saddam Hussein, and the government of Iraq for the good will, cooperation and courtesy extended to my delegation and myself during the last few days.

The deputy prime minister, his excellency Tariq Aziz, and his senior colleagues have worked very hard for the last few days and I should say, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for their help in arriving at this agreement.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

Aziz statement:

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to say that at the beginning of the arrival of his excellency the secretary-general of the United Nations, I welcomed him and his mission and his delegation on behalf of the government of Iraq.

And as he reported to you, we had constructive, intensive, objective discussions about the purpose of his mission.

We highly appreciate the nature of the discussions we had, the understanding we reached, and, as his excellency said, we have reached a final agreement on the question we discussed.

We also agreed that we will continue our cooperation with his excellency, the secretary-general, and with the United Nations in order to achieve the common objective. And as far as Iraq is concerned, as everybody knows, that the priority for the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government is an expeditious implementation of Paragraph 22 of Resolution 687 and the lifting of all sanctions.

We are going to work together in good faith and in full cooperation and we hope this humanitarian, legal and objective lifting of the sanctions will be done very soon.

Question-and-answer excerpts:

Q: Would you say the threat of military force was a help or hindrance?

Aziz: What helped in reaching this agreement between the secretary-general, my president and the Iraqi government is ... the good will he brought with him -- not the American or the British buildup in the Gulf and not the policy of saber-rattling. It was diplomacy -- wise, balanced, United Nations -- world diplomacy that enabled us to reach this agreement. Not the saber-rattling policy.

Q: How close do you think we are (from) lifting sanctions?

Annan: I'm not sure I'm in a position to answer that question because that will be determined by the completion of the work of (U.N. inspectors) and the atomic agency. When and how soon they will complete it, I cannot say.

Q: Are there any time limits on U.N. inspections?

Annan: I can say categorically that there are no time limits or deadlines in the agreement.

Q: Question addresses if there was any procedure to demonstrate Iraq was genuinely and technically carrying out the agreement.

Annan: We have negotiated this agreement in good faith. The Iraqi side was very serious and frank in our discussions. I am hopeful, and perhaps even confident, that this agreement will take us beyond the crisis. ...

And I think I have the undertaking from the Iraqi authorities that they will carry out their part of the bargain and that the UNSCOM inspectors of the U.N. ... also should be sensitive to the concerns of the dignity, security and sovereignty. And that I have no problem with.

Q: Question addresses Annan's impression of Saddam and whether he believes the visit will eliminate the specter of war in the region.

Annan: The president was very well-informed and was in full control of the facts. I was grateful to him that they were frank, constructive, and at the end were determined to settle this issue diplomatically.

My message to the young people around the world is that in today's world, which is a rather interdependent one, we need to be sensitive to concerns of others. We need to understand other cultures. We need to think in much broader terms than our own narrow confines and realize that in this interdependent world no one can afford to think in purely local terms.

Q: Question addresses whether Annan's visit ends the crisis.

Aziz, through translator: In fact, there was no crisis between Iraq and the U.N., evidenced by the fact that agreement we have just reached with the secretary-general, and the positive atmosphere, a constructive atmosphere, which was the essence of this discussion.

The crisis is with the U.S., trying to impose its will on the U.N. For Iraq, this is unacceptable.