Annan to raise key issues in talks with Iraq

UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan began a second and final day of talks with an Iraqi government delegation today saying he …

UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan began a second and final day of talks with an Iraqi government delegation today saying he hoped to be able to raise "all the key issues" by the day's end.

The Iraqis, led by Foreign Minister Mr Mohammad Said al-Sahhaf, were uncompromising in their public statements when the talks opened yesterday, insisting on an end to UN sanctions and ruling out new arms inspections.

But Mr Annan told reporters today: "We had good discussions in a good atmosphere and we are going to continue, and I hope we will be able to tackle all the key issues, to be able to move forward."

The talks were the first high-level substantive contact between the two sides since December 1998, when UN arms inspectors left Iraq for the last time.

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He said yesterday’s session had included a discussion of disarmament, which the Security Council has said is the key to removing the 10-year-old sanctions.

The Iraqis "made a comprehensive presentation indicating how they saw the facts and also put forward quite a lot of their grievances," Mr Annan said.

He added he would brief the Security Council on his talks with the Iraqis, and said that he and Mr Sahhaf would probably issue a statement at the end of the talks.

AFP