Annan, Sabri to meet by the beginning of May
Iraq, Politics, 4/26/2002

The UN has announced that its secretary general Kofi Annan will meet with the Iraqi foreign minister Naji Sabri by the beginning of May in order to continue dialogue between the two sides on the future of the relations between the two sides and the fate of the question of the UN inspectors, while Iraq will start by the end of April a new political campaign to prevent the UN Security Council from imposing new sanctions.

Talks between Iraq and the UN were initially decided by the mid of the current month ( April) but Baghdad asked for postponing it.

The spokesman for the UN Fred Echhard said that the talks will be held on May 1st through 3rd, without defining its precise date, as Annan will be outside New York on May 2nd. The chairman of the UN inspectors Hans Blix and the chairman of the International Agency for atomic energy Muhammad al-Barad'e will take part in Sabri's meeting.

In the recent meeting which was held between the two sides on March 7th, the Iraqis submitted 19 questions addressed to Annan, some of them are technical and others are described by the Americans as " conditions;" Among these is one question asking whether the American plans to strike the regime of the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein violate the international law.

Meantime, an official at the Iraqi foreign ministry said that in the framework of a new political campaign to prevent the UN security council from imposing new sanctions "the foreign minister Naji Sabri will visit Moscow at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov."

It is a visit to which the Etar Tass news agency recently indicated will be dedicated to study the sanctions on Iraq.

Recently, the Russians and the Americans agreed on a list of civil purpose commodities that Iraq can import in the context of reviewing the UN sanctions imposed on Baghdad, which Iraq calls for lifting.

Worthy mentioning that the 11th phase of the oil-for-food program will reach its end by next May.

Previous Stories:
  UN Compensation Commission plundering Iraq   (4/25/2002)
  Iraqi foreign minister meets UN official   (4/24/2002)
  New border openings between Saudi Arabia, Iraq   (4/23/2002)

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