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U.N. to Mull Iraq Sanction Reviews By Nicole Winfield Associated Press Writer Monday, August 24, 1998; 5:31 p.m. EDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The United States and Britain are seeking to have regular reviews on sanctions against Iraq suspended until Baghdad resumes cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors, diplomats said Monday. U.S. and British officials said they would begin circulating a draft resolution this week. Washington is looking to put off the 60-day reviews until Iraq ``comes back into cooperation'' with inspectors, said U.S. Deputy Ambassador Peter Burleigh. If adopted, the resolution would be the toughest action the 15-member Security Council has taken since Baghdad announced Aug. 5 that it would stop cooperating with the United Nations. The move would scrap a major six-month review of sanctions scheduled for October, when Iraq and its council supporters were expected to push for the measures to be eased. Nevertheless, there were questions about whether a suspension would improve the chances for a break in the impasse. It was also unclear how the council could reconcile suspending regular reviews while considering a proposal for a comprehensive review of sanctions. Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended a comprehensive review after Baghdad's decision earlier this month. He sent his envoy, Prakash Shah, to Baghdad to try to persuade the Iraqi leadership to change its mind. Shah briefed the council Monday on his meetings with Deputy Prime Minister Tariz Aziz, which produced no progress. ``Basically, they felt that since I had come there only with a message to comply and that I had no proposals to negotiate with them, they had no reason to change the decision taken August 5th,'' Shah said. Iraq said it was interrupting cooperation with the United Nations because the chief weapons inspector, Richard Butler, refused to certify that Baghdad had destroyed its banned weapons. The sanctions were imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. The council will lift them only when it is convinced that Iraq no longer has long-range missiles and chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Iraq claims it has complied with U.N. resolutions and claims Washington is manipulating Butler and his U.N. Special Commission to maintain sanctions. Iraq's main concern is the restructuring of the commission, said Iraq's ambassador, Nizar Hamdoon. ``Unless this restructuring takes place, Iraq finds it very difficult, almost impossible, to keep any meaningful cooperation with UNSCOM,'' Hamdoon said. To date, the council has only called Baghdad's action ``totally unacceptable.'' Last year, the council suspended sanctions reviews after Baghdad refused to allow inspectors access to presidential palaces, which Iraq ruled off limits citing its sovereignty. ) Copyright 1998 The Associated Press Back to the top -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To be removed/added, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk, NOT the whole list. Archived at http://linux.clare.cam.ac.uk/~saw27/casi/discuss.html