Iraq to Inform Arab Countries of Stance in Talks With UN

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, March 11, 2002

Iraq to Inform Arab Countries of Stance in Talks With UN

Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri Ahmed will tour some Arab capitals to explain Iraq's stance in its talks with the United Nations, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported Sunday.

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Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri Ahmed will tour some Arab capitals to explain Iraq's stance in its talks with the United Nations, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported Sunday.

After attending the Arab League foreign ministerial meeting being held in Cairo, Ahmed will make the tour to elaborate Iraq's " just and firm" stance in talks with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the INA said, without disclosing how many Arab states Ahmed will visit.

The move comes ahead of the annual Arab summit due to be held in Beirut, Lebanon on March 27-28.

Ahmed wrapped up his one-day "positive" dialog with Annan on Thursday, with agreement to hold another round of talks in mid- April.

During Thursday's talks, Ahmed urged the U.N. chief to lift the decade-old U.N. sanctions on Iraq, halt the U.S.-British air raids on the two no-fly zones since the 1991 Gulf War, implement the U.N. Security Council Resolution 687 and rid the Mideast region, especially Israel, of weapons of mass destruction.

For his part, Annan pressed the Iraqi side to accept the return of the arms inspectors after an absence of over three years.

The arms inspectors withdrew out of Iraq on the eve of the U.S.- British air war in December 1998 and have never been allowed to return.

U.S. President George W. Bush has recently demanded the Iraqi regime to allow the arms inspectors back or face the possibility of fresh U.S. military attacks. Facing U.S. threats, Iraq has launched a diplomatic drive and offered to have "an open and unconditional" dialog with the U.N., but still remains adamant on the refusal of the resumption of arms inspections.

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