Czech Republic believes UN should play central role in Iraq crisis

The Czech Republic has expressed support for a fresh EU agreement concerning the Iraq crisis. Late on Thursday, 15 EU leaders agreed on the need to urgently address the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people, offered to support the creation of representative government and urged the U.N. be given a "central role during and after the current crisis." Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla said the Czech Republic fully supported the idea of a UN-coordinated reconstruction of post-war Iraq.

At the same time, Mr Spidla said the Czech Republic would not react to a US call for governments worldwide to close down Iraqi embassies.

The Czech Republic deployed an anti-chemical unit in Kuwait but conditioned their engagement in the war without a UN mandate. Otherwise, the troops will only provide humanitarian aid if Iraq uses weapons of mass destruction.