UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad Said Al-Sahhaf are to meet Monday, February 26, to discuss the lifting of crippling sanctions placed on the country in 1990 as well as the need for humanitarian aid.
Diplomats on Sunday said they did not expect much out of the talks, the first such discussion in more than two years. "It is a no-news event," said one UN official, who asked not to be named. Other diplomats, however, said the fact the two parties were talking at all was an accomplishment.
"I don't think we are going to have a miraculous breakthrough, but at least it's a start," said Annan. For his part, Sahhaf has expressed no optimism over the talks and predicted they would be long
.
The two sides are far apart. Iraq wants a total lifting of crippling sanctions placed on the country in 1990. Annan, for his part, wants Baghdad to implement Security Council resolutions and allow weapons inspectors to return to Iraq in exchange for an easing of the sanctions.
US-British air strikes February 16 on military targets around Baghdad have aggravated the tensions and reduced hopes of lifting the embargo imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Iraq has demanded the UN condemn the strikes. Annan has so far refused.
On the other hand, Iraq's political isolation has crumbled over the past year, with several Arab and western countries reopening embassies in Baghdad. Iraq has also signed free-trade agreements with Egypt and Syria.
The US and Britain believe many countries are flouting the embargo and trading with Iraq, but have suggested reconstructing the sanctions in order to punish Iraqi President Saddam Hussein without hurting the Iraqi people. — (AFP, UN)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
