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Iraq's Vice President to Visit Moscow
Iraq's Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan will hold talks during his visit to Moscow on April 18 on Russian proposals for a lifting of the decade-old UN embargo, a Russian diplomat in Baghdad said Wednesday.
Ramadan's visit will offer the "chance to discuss political ideas related to the lifting of the sanctions imposed on Iraq" as well as bilateral cooperation, the diplomat told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
The Russian foreign ministry said Tuesday that Iraq and the United Nations could easily reach an agreement on lifting UN sanctions against Baghdad and resuming UN weapons inspections.
The two sides could implement a practical plan specifying tasks and the conditions for inspection missions, the status and codes of conduct for inspectors working on Iraqi soil and conflict-solving procedures, the ministry said.
Iraq's cabinet has welcomed the message from Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered at last week's Arab summit in Amman outlining Russian proposals for an end to sanctions in exchange for weapons inspections in Iraq.
Putin said that his proposals would also mean the end of U.S. and British bombing of Iraq, and other instances of what he called interference in Iraq's internal affairs.
Baghdad has been calling on the UN Security Council to fulfil its commitments to Iraq and lift the sanctions, which have been in place since 1990.
The Council's permanent members are divided on the issue, with the United States and Britain wanting to maintain the sanctions and China, Russia and France wanting to see them lifted.
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