Sanctions-hit Iraq hinted Wednesday it could halt crude exports in protest at delays in the UN approval process for imports and in the release of oil revenues.
"What interest and what need does Iraq have in continuing to pump crude when oil revenues are piling up in banks and contracts (for imports) piling up at the secretariat of the UN sanctions committee?" asked Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz.
"Until when will this comedy of 'holds' on contracts continue and what need does Iraq have to continue pumping its oil?" he asked in a letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, quoted by the official news agency INA.—AFP.
©--Agence France Presse.
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
