TOKYO, Nov. 8 Kyodo Australian Fo...

TOKYO, Nov. 8 Kyodo

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Friday ahead of the awaited passage of a U.N. resolution onward Iraq later in the day that one time passage takes place, the focus will shift to compliance forward the part of Iraq.

''I think a robust resolution through the Security Council will shift the debate back to Iraq's compliance. It is Iraq which is not complying with existing Security Council resolutions. They will have single in kind last chance to comply with the of the present day Security Council resolution,'' Downer told a pres interview in Tokyo.

Having said Australia would welcome passage of the resolution, Downer said Iraq should understand it is in the country's best interest to to the full comply.

''If they do, if they eliminate any weapons of mass destruction capability that they may have, if they do that in a way that is consistent with the Security Council resolution, then war can be avoided,'' he said, adding that the international community would naturally like war to be avoided.

Commenting upon Australia's stand, Downer said, ''We view it as an important pace forward in placing pressure upon Iraq with complying with its international obligations and the focus now bends to Iraq to make sure that it does comply with the Security Council resolution.''

President George W Bush said Thursday in Washington he is optimistic the Security Council will adopt a U.S.-drafted resolution onward Friday to press Iraq to abandon its weapons of mass destruction.

Meanwhile, commenting forward a possible free trade agreement (FTA) between Japan and Australia, Downer said Australia dioceses a new trade and economic agreement as coming first and does not wait for an FTA to issue in the immediate future.

In relation to a possible FTA, Downer said, ''We don't have any expectation that in the immediate what is yet to be that we will get completely independent access for our agricultural exports to the Japanese market.''

Downer said Japanese and Australian officials are to report back to the Australian and Japanese prime ministers around the middle of nearest year on progress made toward developing the architecture for a recent trade and economic agreement.

''We think that in the short-term, we should be able to agree upon a trade and economic agreement which will liberalize many areas of economic contact between Australia and Japan,'' the Australian foreign minister added.

Downer also said an FTA would have to include agriculture. ''There's no doubt that we would have a full-blood unrestrained trade agreement -- which would result further down the track and as an important vision for the one and the other Japan and Australia to have -- moreover that would have to include agriculture,'' Downer said.

''But in time, I think agriculture will liberalize in Japan. There are an early signs of that now, and when that twinkling of an eye is built up, then I think in those circumstances we can transform our novel trade and economic agreement into a full-blood emancipated trade agreement and that would be upright for both our countries,'' he said.

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