South Africa Will Send Envoy to Iraq in Efforts to Avert War

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, February 03, 2003

South Africa Will Send Envoy to Iraq in Efforts to Avert War

South African President Thabo Mbeki will soon send Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad toIraq as part of his government's efforts to avert a war, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

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South African President Thabo Mbeki will soon send Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad toIraq as part of his government's efforts to avert a war, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

Ronnie Mamoepa, spokesman for the ministry said in the South African coastal city of Cape Town that the announcement was made in London where Mbeki met British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Mbeki reportedly told Blair that the war in Iraq could still beavoided.

Pahad would be sent to Baghdad to persuade Iraq to cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.

Asked about former president Nelson Mandela's comments that former foreign minister Pik Botha would also visit Baghdad, Mamoepa said: "We are still consulting following the reports."

Addressing a Rhodes Trust banquet on Saturday, Mandela said Botha would visit Iraq to warn President Saddam Hussein he was making a serious mistake by not cooperating fully with UN weapon inspectors.

In off-the-cuff remarks, Mandela said he fully supported Botha,who wished to warn "them they must open up completely and allow UNinspectors to inspect anything they want."

Botha offered his services to the Iraqi government last week, after UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix urged Baghdad to followthe old South African government's example.

Apartheid South Africa destroyed its nuclear weapons in the 1990s and invited the UN to carry out a full inspection without any restrictions.

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