Jordan welcomes the deal between Iraq and the UN

Jordan along with other Arab countries welcomed the agreement signed in Baghdad between Iraq and the UN on Monday to defuse the crisis that began when Iraqi government refused to allow UN weapons inspectors to enter presidential palaces the Iraqi government considered essential to the state's sovereignty.

King Hussein of Jordan welcomed the deal and said, " The efforts in the next stage should focus on direct contact between the concerned countries to address the issue of sanctions imposed on Iraq following the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam's forces in 1990."

"Today the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called me, following the press conference," the king told reporters. "He expressed that every thing was going very well." the king said. "I hope that it will be the end of of the charged atmosphere in which we lived," he stated.

Concerning upcoming steps, King Hussein said, "I believe that the case must be followed up to make direct contacts between the concerned parties in the future to address the next stage." He said, "everything has been agreed upon, the embargo should be focused on." he added.