New Delhi: As the US pushed towards a war against Iraq, India on February 13 said
Baghdad should be given maximum chance to avoid a conflict as it advised the Gulf
country to "comply fully" with the United Nations Resolution 1441.
National Security Adviser and Prime Minister's principal secretary Brajesh Mishra
insisted, "If Iraq does not comply with the world body's resolution, it should be
the UN, which should enforce compliance."
"It is a difficult situation for the international community as far as Iraq is
concerned," Mishra said at a function organised for release of book 'India's
National Security Annual Review-2002'.
"As far as we are concerned, we want that maximum chance should be given to avoid a
war," he said at the function attended by among others US Ambassador to India Robert
D Blackwill.
He said India had urged Iraq to "comply fully with UN Security Council resolution
1441".
"If it does comply, sanctions imposed against it should be lifted and sufferings of
the Iraqi people ended," Mishra said.
The top security adviser said if the war breaks out, the geo-political scenario in
the region would undergo a change, "in that case, India would have to deal according
to its own interests".
India would be concerned about safeguard of its nationals in the region and the
country's economic interests, Mishra added.
Commenting on the book authored by Satish Kumar of the Jawaharlal Nehru University
with the assistance of the National Security Council Secretariat, he said India
needed to be economically and socially strong to meet the increasing threat to its
security.
Earlier, the author said the idea behind the project was to furnish an assessment on
security concerns in an integrated manner.
PTI
