Egypt backs return of U.N. to Iraq

Straw: Difficult mission

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CAIRO, Egypt (CNN) -- U.N. weapons inspectors should not be impeded from returning to Iraq, Egypt's foreign minister has said.

"The inspectors should go back as soon as possible," said Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher. "There is no need to impede their return."

Maher was speaking on Tuesday following a meeting between Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Both the U.S. and the UK have said weapons inspectors should not return until conditions are right and are working for the passage of a new U.N. Security Council resolution threatening the use of military force if Iraqi officials obstruct their work.

Maher added: "Rewriting the rules in the middle of the game may not be the best solution.

"The important thing is to allow the weapons inspectors back. I don't think there is a necessity to change the rules."

Asked under what conditions Egypt would accept the use of military force, Maher told CNN: "The Iraqi government has accepted the return of the weapons inspectors.

"I do not believe in predicting catastrophes before they happen."

Straw is in Egypt as part of a whirlwind tour of the Middle East and the Gulf, aimed at persuading regional leaders that the threat posed by Iraq could justify military action.

Straw arrived in Cairo late on Monday after spending several hours in Paris where he rehearsed the message for his regional tour.

He is to meet key figures in Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait as part of his diplomatic mission.

Speaking in Paris on Monday night before he left for the Middle East, Straw said: "It is an issue above all for the neighbours of Saddam.

"Don't forget that over the last 20 years he has invaded two of his neighbours and launched missile attacks on five... the greatest threat he poses is to the region in which he is."

Straw has said his mission in the area is not "explicitly" devoted to building a coalition against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein but has stressed the need for unity.

Leaders in the region, including Mubarak and King Abdullah of Jordan, have warned the risk of uprisings if the West were to attack Iraq or seek to dispose its leader by force, and there have been protests outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.

The Egyptian president has called for world leaders to seek a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict before tackling the question of Iraq.

Straw's tour comes after U.S. President George W. Bush's gave a speech in which he labelled the Iraqi president a "homicidal dictator" who could use weapons of mass destruction against the United States. (Full story)

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