Italian senate foreign committee calls for lifting embargo against Iraq

The Foreign committee at the Italian Senate approved on Tuesday a resolution calling the Italian government to endeavor for an immediate lifting of the embargo imposed against Iraq and to examine the possibility to reopen the Italian embassy in Baghdad in consultation with the other member countries of the European Union.

Head of the committee, Acchille Occhetto, who spent five days in Iraq last month at the head of an Italian parliamentary delegation told reporters that the resolution is meant to draw attention to some aspects of the embargo, mainly those related to health.

He said during the trip to Iraq, he personally noted that the embargo (decreed against Iraq since 1990) affects mainly the Iraqi people and especially the lower layers of the society.

He said the purpose of the Italian parliamentary delegation's visit to Baghdad was to get informed about the situation in the country and about the Iraqi officials' proposals on a diplomatic solution to the current deadlocked Iraqi issue.

The delegation conferred with several Iraqi officials, including the vice-president, Taha Yassine Ramadane, the deputy premier, Tareq Aziz, the Parliament speaker Saadoune Hammadi and several members of the cabinet.