> >IRAQ SANCTIONS MONITOR Number 121 >Friday, September 14, 2000 > > >LATEST NEWS++++++LATEST NEWS++++++++ > >UN sanctions do not ban passenger flights to Iraq. >MOSCOW, Sept 15 (Prime-TASS) - UN sanctions against Iraq do not ban >passenger flights to that country, ITAR-TASS reported from New York on >Friday citing Russian deputy ambassador to the United Nations Gennady >Tatilov. > >"The UN Security Council documents cocerning Iraq introduce ban on shipment >of various cargoes to Iraq, but not passengers", he said commenting on the >plans of the Russian Aeroflot airlines to resume regular flights to Baghdad >next month. >"Aeroflot plans are not aimed to undermine the regime of sanctions" >introduced by the world community after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Tatilov said. > > >Carey urges Iraq review. >The Archbishop of Canterbury called last night for a review of the United >Nations sanctions on Iraq. They threatened to add to the burden on the poor, >he said. >Addressing American Anglicans in New York, Dr George Carey said sanctions >should be "reconfigured" so that they impacted more directly on arms >supplies rather than on the people. >(c) Telegraph Group Limited, London, 2000. > > >Asian Middle Distillates Up - Iraq-Kuwait Row Supportive. >SINGAPORE -(Dow Jones)-A dispute between Kuwait and Iraq over Iraq's >Rumailah oil field - prompting an assurance of U.S. intervention in the Gulf >should events deteriorate - lifted Asian middle distillates Friday. > >The news has put product markets on a volatile footing. Markets had just >digested the impact last Sunday of an agreement by the Organization of >Petroleum Exporting Countries to raise its output target by 800,000 barrels >a day. >October New York Mercantile Exchange Access crude broke through the $34.50 a >barrel intra-day high posted during floor-trade Thursday to trade as high as >$34.80/bbl before retreating to $34.65/bbl as of 0755 GMT. > >Iraq has accused Kuwait of stealing oil from Iraq's Ramailah oil field near >the Kuwait-Iraq border. In its statement, Iraq said it "will take proper >measures to stop its neighbor's actions." In response, gasoil spot offers >are 50 cents higher from Thursday's levels at $41.60-$41.80/bbl, FOB >Singapore. > >Russia May Defy Ban on Air Service To Iraq. >Washington Post Staff Writers > >Russia may resume regular commercial flights between Moscow and Baghdad for >the first time since the Persian Gulf War, challenging a decade-old U.N. air >embargo on Iraq, West European and Russian diplomats said today. >Such a decision would fly in the face of persistent U.S. efforts to continue >the isolation of President Saddam Hussein's government and have Iraq treated >as an international outcast. In that light, Secretary of State Madeleine K. >Albright expressed strong disagreement with the Russian plans and vowed to >urge that Moscow reconsider. >"We disagree with those who wish to fly into Iraq, and I will make that >clear," she said before a meeting here this afternoon with Russian Foreign >Minister Igor Ivanov. "And I don't think it's a good idea." The Iraqi >government reopened Baghdad's Saddam Hussein International Airport for >business last month. Meanwhile, the Russian carrier, Aeroflot, and Moscow's >Vnukovo Airlines have begun to negotiate with Iraq for exclusive rights to >fly from Moscow to Baghdad. > >Andrei Okhotkin, director general of Vnukovo Airlines-Trading House, a >subsidiary of Vnukovo Airlines, told Russia's Interfax news agency that the >Russian foreign and transportation ministries are considering authorization >of regular flights, but said a final decision may not be made until the end >of this year. Russia has informed key Arab and European countries in recent >weeks that it does not consider the U.N. air embargo to be justified under >U.N. resolutions and that it plans to challenge the U.N. Sanctions >Committee's practice of barring such flights. > >While Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions on Iraq do not >explicitly bar all commercial airline connections, key council members on >the committee have interpreted the resolutions as including such a >prohibition. As a result, the country has been without regular airline >service for a decade, forcing most travelers to drive across the desert to >and from Amman, the capital of Jordan. > >"The resumption of air links with Baghdad and the unblocking of humanitarian >contracts frozen by the U.N. Sanctions Committee would constitute a quicker >settlement of the Iraq problem," according to a joint statement issued >Wednesday by Ivanov and Tariq Aziz, Iraq's deputy prime minister. French >Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine warned Aziz on Monday that the sanctions, >imposed after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, will not end until >Iraq submits to U.N. weapons inspections. > >France will not bar its citizens from humanitarian flights to Baghdad but >has no plans to authorize resumption of scheduled airline service, he said. >"We believe that an embargo is a very primitive approach.... In social >terms, it's a cruel measure," Vedrine told reporters in New York on >Wednesday. Russia has already conducted humanitarian flights to Baghdad and >has received authorization to do so again. But U.S. officials say the latest >Russian move appears to be designed to erode a sanctions policy that Russia >has bitterly opposed for years. > >The Russian push to restore air travel with Iraq also comes as Baghdad is >carrying out a series of actions apparently aimed at testing U.S. and allied >resolve. Earlier this week, U.S. officials said an Iraqi warplane slipped >across the border into Saudi Arabia. >Today, senior Iraqi officials accused Kuwait of siphoning crude oil from one >of its fields and warned that there could be unspecified consequences. >Hoffman reported from Moscow. > >Russian airlines compete for Baghdad flights. >Moscow, 15th September: A Russian air company is expected to launch a >humanitarian flight to Baghdad in late September to bring medicines to the >country devastated by 10 years of international sanctions. > >This will be the seventh flight by Vnukovo Airlines (VAL) to Iraq since >international sanctions were imposed on Baghdad in 1990, its spokesman, >Aleksey Sapkin, told ITAR-TASS on Thursday [14th September]. > >"The aircraft, whose trip will last from September 23 to 25, will also carry >a delegation of the Russian-Iraqi friendship association and VAL officials," >Sapkin said. > >"The company's officials are expected to met Iraqi leaders of a very high >level, probably ministers, to discuss restoration of air links between >Moscow and Baghdad," he said. > >Meanwhile, Russia's biggest airline - Aeroflot - which is VAL's chief >competitor where flights to Baghdad are concerned, is also working to win a >large segment of Iraq's aviation market. > >Aeroflot spokeswoman Yulia Maryashkina said the airline was expected to open >an office in Baghdad before November. > >In the meantime, Aeroflot director Valeriy Okulov told ITAR-TASS the company >was awaiting the arrival of a high-ranking Iraqi delegation to discuss >resumption of flights between the two capitals. > >"Representatives of high-ranking Iraqi aviation authorities will arrive in >Moscow this month to meet Aeroflot management. We will discuss our previous >agreements and see whether we should add details to them or sign new >documents," Okulov said. > >"Until that is done, I cannot give an exact date for the beginning of >Moscow-Baghdad flights," he added. > >However, a final decision on who will snatch this profitable part of Iraq's >market lies with the Russian government, since Baghdad is likely to consider >Moscow's recommendation in choosing an airline. > >Both companies have strong points, since Aeroflot is a successor to the >eponymous Soviet company, while VAL, which broke away from Aeroflot in 1993, >claims it has a "moral right" to launch flights to Baghdad due to its >humanitarian record. > >Along with the fierce competition between the two air companies on who will >be entitled to carry out regular flights to Iraq, there is a legal side to >the issue. > >VAL officials say the sanctions do not ban foreign companies from flying to >Baghdad, but some Russian observers are dubious about the possibility of >resuming air links between the two countries as long as the international >blockade remains in place. >UN sanctions do not ban passenger flights to Iraq - Russian diplomat. >United Nations, 15th September: UN sanctions against Iraq do not ban >passenger flights to that country, Russian deputy ambassador to the United >Nations Gennadiy Gatilov told ITAR-TASS on Thursday. > >"The UN Security Council documents to boycott Iraq introduce ban on shipment >of various goods to Iraq, but not passengers," he said commenting on the >plans of the Russian Aeroflot airlines to resume regular flights to Baghdad >next month. > >"Aeroflot plans are not aimed at undermining the regime of sanctions" >introduced by the world community after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Gatilov added. >US warns Baghdad it would use force if provoked. >United Nations (Platt's)-15Sep2000/150 am EDT/550 GMT >The US Thursday warned Baghdad that it would not hesitate to use its >military force in the region should Iraq attack any of its neighbors, the >official Kuwait News Agency reported. It quoted US Secretary of State >Madeleine Albright as saying at a news conference: "If there are attacks or >provocations against the Kurds in the north, if there are threats against >the neighbors or against our forces, or reconstitution of the weapons of >mass destruction, we do have a credible force in the region and we are >prepared to use it in an appropriate way and in a place of our choosing." >Asked to comment on Iraq's claim of Kuwait is stealing Iraqi oil from two >fields, Albright said after almost ten years of dealing with this issue, "I >genuinely have trouble believing one word out of the mouth of any Iraqi." > >US planes hit radar station in southern Iraq - Pentagon. >Washington (AFP)-15Sep2000/146 am EDT/546 GMT US planes patrolling a no-fly >zone over southern Iraq hit an Iraqi radar installation Thursday but the >extent of the damage was not immediately known, the Defense Department >announced. The site, part of the Iraqi air defense network, was attacked at >9:00 a.m. (1300 GMT), said Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral Craig Quigley. >"The coalition aircraft all returned safely to their home stations, and the >battle damage assessment is still being done," he said. Quigley confirmed >that there were "a couple of violations" of the southern no-fly zone by Iraq >on Sep 4. The spokesman said US defense officials have taken note of recent >belligerent statements coming from Baghdad. "This time of year we pay >particular attention to that," said Quigley. "And we will continue that for >as long as it takes." > >U.S. says ready to use force against Iraq. >By Jonathan Wright >UNITED NATIONS, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The United States warned Iraq on >Thursday it stood ready to use military force if Baghdad threatens its >neighbors, after Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing its oil and an Iraqi jet >violated Saudi air space. > >"We do have a credible force in the region and are prepared to use it in an >appropriate way at a time of our choosing," Secretary of State Madeleine >Albright told a news conference. > >She said the U.S. military option came into play "if there are attacks or >provocations against the Kurds in the north, if there are threats against >the neighbors and against our forces or a reconstitution of the weapons of >mass destruction." >Albright, speaking on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New >York, was skeptical of the Iraqi allegation against Kuwait and said the >United States disapproved of Russian plans to start civilian flights into >Baghdad. > >"After almost 10 years of dealing with this issue, I genuinely have trouble >believing one word out of the mouth of any Iraqi," she said. A senior aide >said she was referring to Iraqi officials, not to Iraqis in general. A State >Department official said earlier on Thursday that an Iraqi military plane >flew briefly over Saudi Arabia last week in an incursion Washington saw as a >possible attempt to create a crisis during the U.N. Millennium Summit in New >York. > >"One question that people have is whether these overflights have not been >carefully orchestrated in order to create a confrontational atmosphere >during the Millennium Summit and during the General Assembly," Albright >said. The New York Times on Thursday said the Sept. 4 incursion over Saudi >Arabia was the first in nearly a decade. >A Pentagon spokesman would say only that Iraqi planes entered the southern >"no-fly" zone that day, and that British and American planes which patrol >that area did not respond because they were not flying at the time. > >But on Thursday, the allied planes bombed a radar site in southern Iraq >because of "a series of provocations" over the past several days including >Iraq firing surface-to-air missiles, Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral Craig >Quigley said. Iraq sparked concern in the international community on >Thursday when it resurrected an old complaint against Kuwait, saying it >would take unspecified measures to stop what it called sabotage and theft of >Baghdad's oil. > >"Iraq will take suitable measures which will guarantee its and the Arab >nations' rights to control its oil wealth and employ it for the interest of >the whole Arab nation rather than achieve vicious American policy," Iraqi >Oil Minister Amir Muhammed Rasheed said, according to the Iraqi News Agency. >Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheik Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah denied the >allegation. "We haven't stolen anything. If you take from your own land it >can't be stealing," he told Reuters. The United States is watching Iraq >closely but at the moment there did not appear to be any troop movements >that appeared out of the ordinary, Quigley said. "This is a time of year >that we pay particular attention to what is going on inside Iraq," he said. > >It is typically at the end of Iraq's military training cycle when Baghdad >tends to become more aggressive, U.S. defense officials said, noting the >August 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The United States was watching for Iraqi >military activity that appeared "larger, longer lasting ... that might prove >to be an indicator of potential hostile action against either a neighboring >nation or against his (Saddam's) own people in the north or the south," he >said. > >"So far we have not seen an indication that is out of character of the sort >of activity that you would see this time of year in conjunction with their >normal training cycle, we'll continue to watch very carefully," he added. >Asked about Russian plans to start an air service to Baghdad, Albright said: >"We disagree with those who wish to fly into Iraq and I will make that clear >when I see (Russian Foreign Minister Igor) Ivanov in a little while and I >don't think it's a good idea." > >Commercial flights would erode the U.N. sanctions, which the United States >wants to maintain as long as Iraq does not let U.N. inspectors monitor its >weapons programs. >On military action, Quigley said: "I think that we have a variety of means >at our disposal to take action, if we so choose to do so, against any >aggressive acts that Saddam would impose, either on a neighbor or on his >people. >Iraq has made more than 150 violations of the no-fly zones, mostly in the >south, since December 1998 when the United States and Britain bombed Iraq, >saying Saddam was obstructing the work of the U.N. weapons inspection >agency. >Belarus opens embassy - air flights to resume. >Text of report by Iraqi radio on 13th September >The ceremony of raising the flag of the Republic of Belarus on its embassy >building in Baghdad was held today. The Belarussian and Iraqi national >anthems were played during the ceremonies. > >In a statement to reporters, Vladimir Zametalin, first deputy chief of the _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for anti-imperialist news. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
