Iraq to allow American inspectors, sanctions to end in bargain

DUBAI, Nov 20: Iraq today agreed to allow the UN weapons inspectors including American members to return to the country in exchange of a qu...

DUBAI, Nov 20: Iraq today agreed to allow the UN weapons inspectors including American members to return to the country in exchange of a quick lifting of sanctions on Baghdad to be mediated by Russia. A communique issued in Baghdad said the decision to allow the full compliment of UN inspectors to return to Baghdad was taken during the Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz’s meeting with his Russian counterpart Yvgeny Primakov.

The National Assembly, (the peoples parliament of Iraq) met this morning in the capital to approve the Iraqi move. The ruling Revolutionary Command chaired by President Saddam Hussain also met to deliberate on the developments.

The six Americans and scores of members of other nationalities comprising the UN weapons inspection team will return today to Baghdad, television networks reported. The communique said Russia was committed to working towards a quick lifting of the UN sanctions on Iraq. People in Baghdad and outside demonstrated jubilantly hoping that now there will be “light at the end of tunnel for Iraq” with the peaceful solution to the stand-off with the United Nations.

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Observers said the breakthrough was a success for Russian diplomacy, particularly for Primakov who is considered a friend of Iraq.

Earlier Iraqi new agency INA reported “Iraq and Russia have reached an agreement in which Iraq has agreed that the UN Special Commission with its complete components will return to resume its ordinary work in Iraq as from today (November 20).”

“Russia will contribute… in a rapid lift of the sanction on Iraq particularly the implementtation of paragraph 22 of the UN Resolution 687 without any additional conditions and for this end fast steps to increase the work of the special commission will be taken,” in a quoted a joint statement between Iraq and Russia as saying.

Earlier the possibility of Iraqi concessions were announced in Geneva by U S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who had a two hour meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Britain, France and a representative of China on the developments in Iraq.

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Albright said the Iraqi decision was not the result of any deals with the major powers and that it was premature to end the military build up in the Gulf.

Meanwhile, the UN Special Commission for Disarmament of Iraq is scheduled to meet in New York tomorrow to make its work in Iraq more effective which is seen as a victory for Baghdad as it has been demanding a review of the Commission’s functioning.