THE GULF WAR : MISSION TO MOSCOW

DEMANDS AND ISSUES Many of Iraq’s conditions for withdrawal from Kuwait reflect recurring issues in the region. Any eventual peace settlement will have to address them, including: --BOYCOTT: Iraq wants an end to the embargo. However, the U.S. has suggested that the boycott will remain as long as Saddam Hussein is in power. The U.N. has tied ending the embargo to Iraq’s withdrawal. --OCCUPATION: If victorious, the allies would maintain an occupation force for a certain period. Under Iraq’s terms, the U.S. and its allies would withdraw forces within a month of Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait. Who prevails will affect the ultimate balance of power in the region. --ISRAEL: The United States has insisted that it would not talk about linkage, but the question of Israel and the occupied territories will almost certainly factor in peace talks. --TERRITORIAL RIGHTS: Iraq has long claimed “historical rights on land and at sea” in Kuwait and the Gulf. --REPARATIONS: Who will pay to rebuild Iraq? Iraq is insisting that the allies must rebuild targets they destroyed while the allies want Iraq to pay for damage to Kuwait. Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s meeting today with Iraqi Foreign Minister Tarik Aziz was announced last week after Soviet envoy Yevgeny M. Primakov visited Baghdad. Iraq followed that announcement Friday by making an offer to withdraw from Kuwait--if a long list of conditions were met. Today’s meeting is now seen as a way to measure Saddam Hussein’s sincerity and to explore the conditions attached to offer. Some of the issues that will be talked about will recur in subsequent attempts to reach a peace settlement. --MOSCOW: Soviet officials have stressed that Iraq must leave Kuwait and has no right to pose preconditions, but added that it is not too late to make one more attempt at a diplomatic solution that would avert a bloody ground war. --BAGHDAD: Iraqi leaders claim that their conditional offer to withdraw from Kuwait was made in response to Soviet diplomatic initiatives, and that Aziz’s mission to Moscow will be a way of exploring reactions to last Friday’s offer. Iraq’s ambassador to France indicates that the list of conditions is meant merely as an opening offer. --WASHINGTON: Bush Administration officials say they will be satisfied if Gorbachev can persuade Iraq to withdraw unconditionally from Kuwait. But they say the United States is not interested in any last-minute negotiations on conditions for withdrawal and will not disrupt its military planning for the Moscow meeting. REACTION --JORDAN: Jordanian officials have described the Iraqi proposal as a “significant shift” that should bode well for peace. --FRANCE: France has been in the forefront of allies urging negotiation but indicated Sunday that Iraq’s offer to withdraw must be accompanied by deed. “We would begin to consider this seriously,” said French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas, if Hussein begins withdrawing “massively, immediately and unconditionally.” --ISRAEL: Iraq’s conditional offer is a sign that Hussein is beginning to realize that he is in serious trouble, said Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Arens. --VATICAN: Pope John Paul II distanced himself from Italian leftists and pacifists, declaring Sunday that he does not seek “peace at any cost.” --IRAN: Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani, a key player in efforts to end the Gulf War, said Iraq’s offer has created a chance for peace. Tehran is sending a senior delegation to Iraq soon with a reply to an earlier message from Saddam Hussein. Pakistani Foreign Minister Sahabzada Yaqub Khan was due in Tehran for peace talks.