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The United States said Thursday that it has sent requests through its overseas missions to countries around the world, asking these countries to shut down Iraqi embassies and other diplomatic missions until a new interim government is installed in Baghdad.
"Through our diplomatic missions overseas, the United States has made a formal request to those countries in which the Iraqis have a diplomatic presence to suspend Iraq's diplomatic presence in the country on a temporary basis," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a news briefing.
"We've also asked them to take steps to assure the prompt departure of the leading representatives of (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein's regime," Boucher added.
He said Washington made such request because President Saddam'srefusal to comply with 12 years of UN Security Council resolutions to disarm has left the United States and its allies with no option but to disarm him forcefully.
The United States has commenced military action that will permanently disarm Iraq, Boucher said. "Our expectation is that once an interim Iraqi authority is in place, it will name interim replacement representatives and diplomatic missions that can reopen and truly represent the interests of the Iraqi people," he added.
The spokesman said the United States asked in the requests countries concerned to respect and protect Iraqi diplomatic property and is looking at the possibility of providing alternative basic consular services for Iraqi nationals in these countries.
(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2003)
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