Baghdad: war will obstruct trade agreements with the Arab states

The Iraqi trade minister Muhammad Mahdi Saleh has added a new dimension for the risks of any American war against Iraq, when he indicated yesterday the possibility that war will result in canceling all trade agreements finalized by Baghdad with the Arab states.

Saleh added upon his arrival in Cairo yesterday that the aim of the US in its "aggression" against Iraq is not only to control the oil and draw a new map for the Middle East, rather to obstruct the achievements in the economic and trade field already achieved among the Arab states in general and Iraq and the Arab states, in particular.

When he was asked about the effect of the eruption of war on trade agreements finalized between Iraq and the Arab states, Saleh said "doubtless these agreements will be blocked in case the war erupts."