Meguid and al-Sharaa discuss committee meeting on Iraq sanctions

Arab League (AL) Secretary General Esmat Abdul Meguid has announced that he received on Saturday a message from Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa, who is chairman of the Arab ministerial committee authorized by the Arab FMs to maintain practical moves with the UN Security Council in order to lift the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq.

Abdul Meguid indicated that al-Sharaa's message, which he received from Syria's permanent representative at the AL, Issa Darwish, was in reply to a previous message sent to al-Sharaa last Sunday relating to the future move of the ministerial committee.

The AL chief explained that the final date for convening the awaited ministerial committee in Damascus will be set in light of current contacts between the committee's member-states. He noted that the AL is in constant contact with al-Sharaa concerning the work of the committee.

Abdul Meguid commented that Iraq's objection "is not on the objective of the committee, but rather because it is not a member of it."

Official sources at the AL expected the committee to hold its meeting before March 14, the date when the 111th session of the AL council will meet at foreign ministry level, to submit results of the meeting to the council.

Meanwhile, Map reported that Iraq wants the Arab foreign ministers to discuss the cancellation of the no-fly zone in their next meeting scheduled next month at the Arab League headquarters. The establishment of the zones is contrary to international laws and an aggression against Iraq's territorial sovereignty, the Iraqi representative to the Arab League said.