Prime Minister
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr Baker has come to see us after an extensive tour of the Gulf and he has just been to Moscow. We are delighted to see him, we have discussed the whole situation very thoroughly and I think that you would prefer to hear from him immediately. Mr Baker.
Mr Baker
Thank you very much Prime Minister. Ladies and Gentlemen, I have had an opportunity to give the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State a full report on my trip to the Gulf, my trip to Egypt, my trip to Turkey and the visit yesterday with Foreign Minister Shevardnadze and President Gorbachev in the Soviet Union.
I want to thank you, Prime Minister, for giving me as much time as you have been able to give me and I would like to simply say that we spent quite a bit of our time talking about the ways in which we can best preserve and move forward with the unprecedented international consensus that is supporting the ten United Nations Security Council Resolutions requiring of course the unconditional [end p1] withdrawal of Iraq from Kuwait, the restoration of the legitimate government of Kuwait and so forth.
There was of course, as you would expect, full agreement between us on the desire for full implementation of these resolutions, for the acceptance of no partial solutions. And I want to say how very much I appreciate your making yourself available, Prime Minister, at short notice.
Prime Minister
Obviously we stand absolutely together in supporting this great international coalition that has been built up to see that aggression does not, cannot and will not pay—absolutely together. The peaceful solution would be for Iraq to get out of Kuwait, that is a matter for them, we hope they will do it. If not, we shall have to take the military option and see that Iraq does leave Kuwait.
Question
Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister of Iraq, Tariq Aziz, said today as he was seeing Mr Brandt off at the airport that he believed there has been “misconceptions on both sides in this crisis.” Do you think that is an indication that the Iraqi government recognises their mistake?
Prime Minister
There is no misconception here. [end p2]
Mr Baker
There can be no misconception or misperception of the action that Iraq took in invading Kuwait and in brutalising the citizens of Kuwait, that is simply not subject to any misinterpretation.
Question
Prime Minister, did you discuss the possibility of a United Nations resolution authorising the use of force?
Prime Minister
We already have legal authority, as you know, for the use of force. We obviously would like to keep this remarkable coalition together and so we consider how best to do that.
Question
Would you support a resolution in the UN Security Council authorising the use of force, regardless of whether you think one is necessary for legal reasons?
Prime Minister
We do not believe that one is necessary for legal reasons, we already have the legal authority, we think that is generally accepted. The only question is how best to keep this coalition of opinion absolutely together and that of course we consider.