Iraq evaluates its position and UN dialog on sanctions

Iraq's foreign minister Muhammad Saeed al-Sahaf has stressed that Iraq is at the meantime through determining the characteristics of the new phase between Iraq and the UN by making a comprehensive and unconditional dialogue with the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

In press statements he made on Saturday evening in Baghdad in a session for the Iraqi national council, al-Sahaf expressed Iraq's readiness to review all matters to be debated by the UN General Assembly GA in order to get out of the bottleneck the UN Security Council trapped in through resolution no 1282 which is viewed by most members of the UN Security Council that it aims at re-formulating UN Security Council resolutions..

Al-Sahaf explained that so many things have been changed in the interests of Iraq, stressing that his country will not accept less than completing lift of the sanctions imposed on Iraq and other matters imposed on it under this pretext.

He added that Iraq will not accept to be monitored inside its territories alone, rather this monitoring should be on the countries of the region," foremost being the Zionist entity." Worthy mentioning that UN resolution no. 1284 which was adopted by the UN Security Council in December 1999 stipulated Baghdad's acceptance to fully cooperate with a new commission for monitoring its weapons for lifting the sanctions imposed on it since 1999 for periods of 120 days to be renewed.