Iraq Invites Chief UN Inspectors for Talks in Baghdad

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 31, 2003

Iraq Invites Chief UN Inspectors for Talks in Baghdad

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Iraq has invited chief UN arms inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei to return to Baghdad before Feb. 10 for fresh talks on cooperation in Iraq's disarmament, a Foreign Ministry statement said on Thursday.

The invitation was sent by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's science adviser Amer al-Saadi to Blix, head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), and ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The Foreign Ministry statement said their meetings with Iraqi officials would focus on "a number of questions related to enhancing cooperation and transparency" between the two sides.

Both parties would discuss "ways to improve the mechanisms of cooperation and consultation to re-establish a better monitoring regime," the statement said.

Their discussions would also include some questions on Iraq's disarmament raised by the two chief inspectors in their reports to the Security Council on Monday.

In the crucial report on Iraqi disarmament to the UN Security Council, Blix and ElBaradei gave a better-than-expected assessment of Iraq's cooperation, but called for more efforts on the Iraqi side to resolve remaining unanswered questions.

They are scheduled to make their next update report to the UN Security Council on Feb. 14.

It was not immediately known whether the two inspectors had accepted Baghdad's invitation.

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