Arab League regrets U.N. report on Iraq

The Arab League (A.L.) expressed regret over the content of the report prepared by UN arms inspectors and UNSCOM chief Richard Butler, who is in charge of scrapping Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

In statements he made on Sunday A.L. Secretary-General Esmat Abdul Meguid said the Arab League considers Iraq committed to implementation of Security Council resolutions and the agreement concluded in February with U.N. chief Kofi Annan.

Abdul Meguid added: "It is clear Annan supports Iraq, but Butler's report unfortunately discourages the Security Council from reaching an agreement with Iraq." He said he hoped that the council's emergency meetings, held as open discussions, would lead to lifting the sanctions from Iraq soon.