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http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_697000/697289.stm
Iraq claims victory in UN
oil deal
Iraq's oil industry was targeted during the Gulf War
Iraq has described the United Nation's moves
to allow it to spend more on oil industry repairs
as a victory of good over evil.
On Friday the UN Security Council unanimously
adopted a resolution allowing Baghdad to
spend $1.2bn a year on oil industry spare parts
- double the previous figure.
Before the vote, when a favourable outcome
already appeared likely, Iraqi oil minister said:
"When good insists ... evil backs down."
He described the UN
action a victory for
Iraq.
Under a council
resolution adopted last
December, Iraq is
allowed to sell as much
oil as it wishes within
the UN oil-for-food
programme.
However, Iraq had not
been able to increase
oil production because of damage sustained by
oil pumping stations.
Iraq's oil industry was specifically targeted
during the Gulf War and has been decimated
by neglect during nearly 10 years of sanctions.
Oil-for-food
The UK's ambassador to the UN, Jeremy
Greenstock, urged Iraq to take advantage of
the new resolution.
He said it would enable Baghdad to export
more oil and buy more goods to meet the
needs of its people.
"This extra revenue and the welcome decision
by the government of Iraq to increase its oil
production will bring a significant new element
of cash into the oil-for-food programme", Mr
Greenstock said.
The oil-for-food
programme permits Iraq
to sell crude to buy
humanitarian supplies
to ease the effects of
punishing sanctions
imposed after its 1990
invasion of Kuwait.
About 60% of the
money raised through
the oil sales goes for
the purchase of civilian
necessities, under tight
UN monitoring.
The remainder is siphoned into UN accounts to
pay reparations to Kuwait and to meet other
costs stemming from the Gulf War.
Annan's warning
The council said it was acting on the
recommendation of Secretary General Kofi
Annan.
The secretary general had warned in a report
on 10 March that unless Iraq had more access
to industrial spare parts, oil production would
drop off, causing the flow of humanitarian
supplies to Iraqi people to decrease
dramatically.
In a debate on the humanitarian situation in
Iraq last Friday, Annan told the council that
the deterioration of Iraq's oil industry
threatened to undermine the oil-for-food
programme.
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