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SG: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I've had a chance to have very good discussions with the President and to be able to thank him for the strong Austrian support for the United Nations and also for being such a wonderful host country to UN operations and its activities. As the President has indicated, we were able to discuss the situation in Iraq, the post-conflict Iraq, the UN's role as we move into the future, and we talked about the need for us to press ahead with the road map prepared by the quartet and try and resolve the long-standing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Obviously, there are other issues around the world which the international community will need to focus on, and therefore we also discussed the need for international cooperation and to seek out mechanisms for strengthening that cooperation to be able to cope with the issues of common concern.

Q: Mr. Annan, what are you planning to do to heal the rifts within the Security Council over the issue of Iraq?

SG: I think the Member States themselves are in touch and I am in touch with them at capitals and also at the Security Council in New York. What is important for us as we look forward to the future is that we try to focus on what can be done to help the people of Iraq, and to help Iraq to return to normalcy and become a member of the family of nations once again and that we try to heal the divisions which emerged before the war and focus on the constructive efforts we are going to make in Iraq. And as we focus on post-conflict Iraq and the international community's role, we should also bear in mind that we have other major challenges that require us to work together, and therefore the unity that is required to help us deal with Iraq is also needed in the other areas, whether it's Israel-Palestine, Afghanistan, the fight against terrorism, the fight against poverty, and so forth. So I hope we will all realise that we do need each other and that we need to come together and focus on what needs to be done.

Q: Is your June 3rd review of sanctions a realistic date for lifting those sanctions?

SG: I think the June 3rd review was originally intended to review the Oil-for-Food scheme. The question of lifting of sanctions has been raised, and I think sanctions have to be lifted some day, and I hope the Council will focus on what needs to be done for it to be lifted.

Q: Do you think the UN can make the arrangements necessary to get Iraqi oil flowing before June 3rd?

SG: There are serious discussions in the Council, and this is one of the issues that is being discussed.

Q: After the waiting [inaudible] what is the natural role for the Organization after the war in Iraq?

SG: I think as far as the UN role is concerned, let me say that there are many governments within the region and beyond who believe that the UN should have an important role to play. The Council is discussing this role, and both in New York and other capitals, I myself have spoken to lots of Heads of State about it and I'm sure we are going to be able to find an agreement as to how we can all cooperate in assisting the Iraqi people. I think you know from experience and history that the UN has played important roles in many countries regarding the reconstruction, facilitation of political processes, human rights, a whole range of issues. We are coordinating the humanitarian activities now, but the Council will determine the additional responsibilities that the UN will take on, in consultation with others, of course.