TNAG-2028-FCO40-2890-Hong-Kong-freezing-of-Kuwaiti-and-Iraqi-assets-1990 — Page 44

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COMME

CONFIDENTIAL

FM UKMIS NEW YORK

TO DESHBY 191400Z FCD

TELNO 1000

OF 1917552 AUGUST 90

i

HKB 020 126 RECEIVED IN RECICELY

24 AUG 1990

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

HA

INFO DESKAY 191930Z WASHINGTON INFO IMMEDIATE PARIS, MOSCOW,

PEKING, UKDEL NATO

YOUR TELNOS 457–459;

SUMMARY

IRAB/KUWAITI NEXT STEPS

1. AMERICAN AND BRITISH (YOUR TELNO 458) WORKING PAPERS DISCUSSED AT THE FIVE. CHINESE RESERVE THEIR POSITION. MEETING OF POLITICAL COUNSELLORS OF THE FIVE AT 20302 ON 19 AUSUST FOLLOWED BY MEETING OF AMBASSADORS OF THE FIVE AT 1430Z ON 20 AUBUST,

DETAIL

PICKERINO

2. AMBASSADORS OF THE FIVE MET AT 15002 ON 19 AUGUST. (UNITED STATES) SAID THAT THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT IRAQI FLAGGED VESSELS WERE TRYING TO EVADE SANCTIONS) HE REFERRED IN PARTICULAR TO THE TWO TANKERS IN THE PERSIAN GULF AND THE GULF OF OMAN, THE UNITED STATES WISHED TO MAINTAIN THE UNITY OF THE COUNCIL AND ITS CO-OPERATION WITH OTHER COUNTRIES, IF POSSIBLE IT WOULD LIKE TO BROADEN THE CURRENT NAVAL EFFORT. WHILE THE AMERICANS BELIEVED THAT THEY HAD SUFFICIENT AUTHORITY TO TAKE ACTION ON THE TWO IRAGI VESSELS UNDER ARTICLE 51, THEY WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THE POSITION AB UNANDIGUOUS AS POSSIBLE. THEY HAD THEREFORE LOOKED AT CHAPTER ROMAN VII OF THE CHARTER AND PREPARED A WORKING PAPER. THIS DID NOT SPECIFICALLY REFER TO ARTICLE 42 BECAUSE THE AMERICANS HAD CONCLUDED THAT THIS ARTICLE ENVISAGED THE DEPLOYMENT OF FORCES ASSISMED TO THE UNITED NATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 431 IN FACT NO SUCH FORCES EXISTED. IT WOULD THEREFORE BE MORE APPROPRIATE TO TAKE ACTION UNDER ARTICLE 39. PICKERING THEN KANDED ROUND THE PAPER: TEXT IN MIET.

3. PICKERING STRESSED THERE WAS A TIME CONSTRAINT BECAUSE THE UNITED STATES WOULD HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT NATIONAL ACTION TO TAKE OVER THE

IRAGI TANKERS IN THE NEXT DAY OR TWO.

* I THEN CIRCULATED THE TEXT IN YOUR TELNO 458. I SAID THAT MOST MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL APPEARED TO WANT TO BRING THE NAV and OPERATIONS IN THE BULF WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE UNITED NATIONS. OUR PAPER WAS SIMILAR TO THE AMERICAN TEXT IN MANY RESPECTS. WE WERE IN UNCHARTED TERRITORY: WE WERE ANXIOUS TO AVOID A REPETITION OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED OVER KOREA. THE ONLY PRECEDENT OF VALUE HAS SCR 221 OF 1966 (BEIRA PATROL). THIS HAD NOT EXPLICITLY REFERRED TO ARTICLE 09, BUT HAD GONE FORWARD UNDER THAT ARTICLE. WE SHOULD MAKE USE OF THIS WITHOUT FOLLOWING IT TOO SLAVISHLY, I STRESSED THAT WE WERE FULLY CONFIDENT OF THE LEGAL JUSTIFICATION FOR BRITISH FORCES TAKING ACTION UNDER ARTICLE 51. WE WERE READY TO MOVE FORWARD

#

QUICKLY BUT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO AVOID SIVING THE IMPRESSION TO THE NON-PERMANENT MEMBERS THAT THEY WERE BEING BOUNCED. I ALSO WANTED TO MAKE A POLITICAL POINT. IF WE WERE TO MOBILIZE THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IN AN UNPARALLELED EFFORT, IT MIGHT BE WORTH LETTING ONE

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