Oil-for-food: Iraq not for changes

Iraq today said it would reject a six-year-old oil-for-food deal with the United Nations if changes proposed by Britain and the United States were introduced. ``There will be no deal if the Iraqi Government does not accept changes introduced on the oil- for-food agreement,'' Iraq's Foreign Minister, Mr. Naji Sabri, told Reuters.

Iraq's oil-for-food programme comes up for renewal at the end of the month. The 15-nation U.N. Security Council must approve a resolution either to extend the current programme or revamp it before November 30.

The deal with the United Nations allows Baghdad to sell oil to buy food, medicine and humanitarian goods to ease the impact of U.N. sanctions imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990.

The United States and Britain want to overhaul the sanctions to make it easier for Iraq to buy ordinary goods, while clamping down on smuggling and keeping tight controls on the purchase of goods with military applications.

But Russia, which enjoys a veto at the Security Council, opposed the ``smart sanctions'' plan when it was debated in the summer.

Baghdad demands the total lifting of U.N. sanctions which it says have crippled the economy.

The British Foreign Secretary, Mr. Jack Straw, said earlier this month he had discussed a revision of the smart sanctions plan with Russian Foreign Minister, Mr. Igor Ivanov.

But Mr. Sabri said Iraq would not accept changes to the oil-for- food programme.

- Reuters

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Section  : International
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