France Demands Short List of Sanctioned Goods Against IraqThe United Nations Security Council should set a "very short" list of import goods that should remain subject to U.N. authorization under the new regime of sanctions against Iraq, French Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday."The Security Council should elaborate as early as possible the methods of alleviation of the sanctions, which should be with a very short list of goods that will remain subject to authorization of the U.N. committee on sanctions," said the French Ministry in a statement. A Washington-London proposal of "smart" sanctions, with a long list of items that Iraq can not buy without approval, was delayed last week at the Security Council because of opposition from China and Russia and reservation from France. The proposal allows free flow of civilian goods to Iraq while tightly controlling a wide range of goods suspected of military uses, especially those of telecommunications and other technologies. The Security Council on Friday voted to extend the "oil for food" program for one month while pursuing negotiations over the proposal of "smart" sanctions. In response, Iraq, who has been urging for a lift of the 11- year-old sanctions, announced it will not resume supplying more than 2 million barrels of oil a day until U.N. abandons the so- called "smart" sanctions. |
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