Iraqi minister reiterates his country's opposition to British draft

Iraqi Trade Minister Mohamed Mahdi Saleh stated that Baghdad will refuse the British draft if it is ratified by the United Nations Security Council and that Iraq will not accept the return of the UN Special Committee (UNSCOM) to disarm weapons of mass destruction to its lands without the lifting of UN economic sanctions.

Saleh also said the US administration had to agree on a six-month extension for the oil-for-food agreement, especially "when its game became exposed," a reference to US tactics in trying for gain the support of Russia , France and China to link this oil-for-food deal with the conditional lifting of the economic sanctions that the US is seeking.

He stated that the USA's goals for extending the oil-for-food agreement for one or two weeks at a time have become very clear to everybody, therefore it had to extend it for another six months, declaring his relief over this extension.