President Thabo Mbeki is expected to throw his weight behind those opposing unilateral United States military action against Iraq when he addresses the United Nations this week.
Insiders said on Monday the president was likely to stress that no UN member state should act outside the ambit the world body in matters of this nature.
Mbeki leaves for New York on Tuesday to address the opening session of the 57th UN General Assembly on Thursday. He will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and senior officials.
Insiders said there could be little doubt that Mbeki would air his views on international tension over Iraq’s refusal to give access to UN weapon inspectors.
Speculation has been mounting that the US intends taking military action against Iraq.
US President George Bush has warned his Iraqi counterpart Saddam Hussein of unspecified consequences if he does not allow UN inspectors into the country to verify he has dismantled chemical and biological weapons.
UN inspectors trying to determine whether Iraq possessed nuclear weapons of mass destruction left Iraq in 1998 and have been barred from returning.
Several countries in recent days have also been voicing fears about Iraq’s capability to manufacture and use weapons of mass destruction, but insisted the matter should be handled through the UN.
South Africa and Germany last week agreed the US should refrain from taking any military action against Iraq.
Mbeki and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder shared thoughts on the matter during a meeting on the sidelines of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad said Mbeki told Schroder the United States should be discouraged from attacking Iraq.
”The two leaders agreed they were not comfortable with any military action being taken against Iraq,” Pahad said.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela has added his voice to those opposing a US military attack on Iraq.
The South African foreign affairs department said Mbeki would also report back to the UN on the WSSD, and on the launch of the African Union in Durban in July.
Mbeki would speak on the conflict in the Middle East in his capacity as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, the department said in a statement in Pretoria.
On Sunday, the president would brief the African group on the AU and on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad).
Mbeki would address a high-level meeting on Nepad on Monday, and act as panelist in informal discussions on the international community’s role in Nepad. A number of bilateral and multilateral meetings were also on the cards, department said.
Sources said arrangements were being made to get Mbeki, Bush, Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame together for talks on peace efforts in the Great Lakes region.
Mbeki was also expected to meet former US president Bill Clinton during his stay in New York.
The department said Dlamini-Zuma would also take part in a meeting of Commonwealth foreign ministers. – Sapa