On the meeting between UN chief, Iraqi FM

The Iraqi foreign minister Naji Sabri al-Hadeithi has announced that he called during his meeting with the UN secretary General Kofi Annan in New York for lifting the sanctions imposed on Iraq since 1990.

Al-Hadeithi said "we have met in two morning and evening sessions with a delegation of the UN general secretariat and we raised Iraq's legitimate preoccupations in the two meetings, foremost being lifting the sanctions and halting the continued aggressions against the Iraqi territories."

He added that during the two session Annan reviewed the UN position concerning relations with Iraq and the pending issues.

Both Sabri and Annan agreed to meet in the mid of April following talks which were considered as positive on the possible return back of the UN inspectors to Iraq in order to dismantle weapons.

This meeting between Iraq and the UN is the first to be held at that level since one year.

The spokesman for the UN Fred Eckhard said that Annan saw the talks as "constructive and open " and simultaneously dealt with pivotal issues like the UN inspection operations.

Meantime, Annan said that the Security Council "generally encouraged me to go ahead with the discussions with the Iraqis on the understanding that

we are talking of implementation of all Security Council resolutions

and we will focus on the core issues."

"We want to see the council resolutions implemented and the return of

the inspectors and all council members who have given me their

endorsement will work with me in that direction," he said.