Iraqi minister calls for regular official Arab flights to Baghdad

Iraq's foreign minister Muhammad Saeed al-Sahaf has called on Arab official government sides to return back regular air flights with Iraq in order to break the air embargo imposed on it as part of the series of UN sanctions imposed on Iraq since 1990.

In a statement to the United Arab Emirates UAE daily al-Bayan issued on Monday, al-Sahaf added that the Arab flights are an expression of warm feelings ' we amicable receive" but they are not regular flights, nor sent by official Arab sides.

Al-Sahaf, on the other hand considered that the Iraqi presence at the urgent Arab summit which was held in Cairo on October 21 and 22 revealed that there is a greater understanding for the Iraqi positions. He added that not very few Arab leaders who called for lifting the embargo imposed on Iraq, noting " however, Baghdad called on the summit to take a clear decision if they want to lift the sanctions and the Arabs to adopt this clear decision, immediately."

He indicated that Iraq preferred the summit to dedicate all efforts for serving the cause of Palestine so as not to be said that stances are dispersed because of Iraq.

He lastly explained that " al-Jihad strategy- proposed by Iraq at the summit does not mean to ring the bell of war rather to invest all potentials and to maintain very strong solidarity."