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Jordan Calls for UN-Iraq Dialog to End Standoff Over Sanctions
Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb on Tuesday called for a dialog between Iraq and the U.N. to break the standoff over sanctions against Baghdad and end the plight of the Iraqi people under the sanctions.
"The best way out is a dialog between Iraq and the United Nations to find a formula to implement the (U.N.) Security Council resolutions as well as lifting the embargo on Baghdad," Abu Ragheb said at a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Atef Obeid.
Ragheb was commenting on the efforts by Britain, backed by the United States, to push through a draft resolution of "smart sanctions" on Iraq in the U.N. Security Council.
The "smart sanctions" envisage an idea to lift the restrictions on general trade with Iraq while tightening controls on sales of materials which could be used for military purposes.
"There are differences among the permanent members of the Security Council (over the smart sanctions) and the information we have received indicate that there will be obstacles that will undermine easing the hardships of the Iraqi people," Abu Ragheb said.
The U.N. Security Council on Friday extended for one month the U.N.-Iraq oil-for-food program to allow its five permanent members to discuss the "smart sanctions" proposals.
Iraq, which calls for lifting of the international sanctions, rejected the one-month extension and stopped oil export to world market as of Monday except for deliveries to Jordan and Turkey, which both rely heavily on oil supply from Baghdad.
Baghdad said that more than 1.5 million of its citizens, mostly children and elderly, have died due to malnutrition and lack of medicine under the sanctions, imposed by the U.N. Security Council after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
Obeid refused to comment on the "smart sanctions" at the press conference.
He arrived in Amman on Monday to co-chair with Ragheb a meeting of the Egyptian-Jordanian higher committee, which endorsed nine agreements or minutes of understanding between the two countries in the fields of information technology, tourism and housing.
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