Home
UN to consider lifting Iraq sanctions
The UN Security Council will discuss the contentious issue lifting of sanctions against Iraq next week for the first time.
The US wants quick action to end sanctions but diplomats warned that the matter could be long-drawn out and difficult to resolve.
US President George W Bush has urged the UN to lift the sanctions on Iraq's economy for nearly 13 years.
The call came after EU leaders yesterday backed Tony Blair's plea to rebuild Iraq.
The Prime Minister succeeded in narrowing divisions with those who had been opposed to military action, including French President Jacques Chirac, as violent anti-war protests took place outside the EU summit in Athens.
Mr Blair again stressed the importance of the UN in rebuilding Iraq during a meeting with Secretary General Kofi Annan.
The lifting of sanctions is linked to UN certification that Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction have been destroyed.
Mexico's UN Ambassador Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, the current Security Council president, yesterday said that members will be guided by two resolutions that establish the legal conditions for suspending and lifting sanctions and are "related strictly to the disarmament of Iraq".
The Security Council imposed sanctions banning all countries from importing any Iraqi goods, including its oil lifeblood, four days after Saddam's forces invaded Kuwait in August 1990.
An arms embargo was added after the first Gulf War ended with Iraq's defeat.
Sanctions were later modified to allow oil revenue to be used to buy food, medicine and other humanitarian items for the Iraqi people.
The resolution states that sanctions can be lifted when the council has agreed that Iraq has completed this disarmament .
US Ambassador John Negroponte said Washington was still discussing the specifics of lifting sanctions.
"We visualise some kind of a step-by-step procedure with respect to post-conflict resolutions regarding Iraq," he said. "Certainly one of the issues we're going to have to deal with early on is sanctions."
The EU meeting in Athens also saw violent demonstrations.
The ugly scenes marred a day that saw the EU's pro and anti-war factions coming together to focus attention on rebuilding Iraq.
Mr Blair and Mr Chirac had a "perfectly amiable" 25- minute chat on Iraq and other issues after a "chance" meeting, a Downing Street spokesman said.
Relations had gone beyond the "kiss and make up" stage.
Earlier, Mr Blair called for a major shake-up to give the European Union more clout in foreign policy.
An enlarged EU of 25 member states needed a more powerful voice on the world stage, he said.
Read more: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
The UN Security Council will discuss the contentious issue lifting of sanctions against Iraq next week for the first time.
The US wants quick action to end sanctions but diplomats warned that the matter could be long-drawn out and difficult to resolve.
US President George W Bush has urged the UN to lift the sanctions on Iraq's economy for nearly 13 years.
The call came after EU leaders yesterday backed Tony Blair's plea to rebuild Iraq.
The Prime Minister succeeded in narrowing divisions with those who had been opposed to military action, including French President Jacques Chirac, as violent anti-war protests took place outside the EU summit in Athens.
Mr Blair again stressed the importance of the UN in rebuilding Iraq during a meeting with Secretary General Kofi Annan.
The lifting of sanctions is linked to UN certification that Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction have been destroyed.
Mexico's UN Ambassador Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, the current Security Council president, yesterday said that members will be guided by two resolutions that establish the legal conditions for suspending and lifting sanctions and are "related strictly to the disarmament of Iraq".
The Security Council imposed sanctions banning all countries from importing any Iraqi goods, including its oil lifeblood, four days after Saddam's forces invaded Kuwait in August 1990.
An arms embargo was added after the first Gulf War ended with Iraq's defeat.
Sanctions were later modified to allow oil revenue to be used to buy food, medicine and other humanitarian items for the Iraqi people.
The resolution states that sanctions can be lifted when the council has agreed that Iraq has completed this disarmament .
US Ambassador John Negroponte said Washington was still discussing the specifics of lifting sanctions.
"We visualise some kind of a step-by-step procedure with respect to post-conflict resolutions regarding Iraq," he said. "Certainly one of the issues we're going to have to deal with early on is sanctions."
The EU meeting in Athens also saw violent demonstrations.
The ugly scenes marred a day that saw the EU's pro and anti-war factions coming together to focus attention on rebuilding Iraq.
Mr Blair and Mr Chirac had a "perfectly amiable" 25- minute chat on Iraq and other issues after a "chance" meeting, a Downing Street spokesman said.
Relations had gone beyond the "kiss and make up" stage.
Earlier, Mr Blair called for a major shake-up to give the European Union more clout in foreign policy.
An enlarged EU of 25 member states needed a more powerful voice on the world stage, he said.
Read more: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
