Chavez angers US with visit to Baghdad

The Venezuelan President, Mr Hugo Chavez, yesterday became the first foreign head of state to visit Iraq since the end of the 1991 Gulf War, breaking a 10-year taboo on high-level contacts with Baghdad and angering Washington, the foremost proponent of sanctions.

Mr Chavez paid a one-day visit to brief the country's President, Mr Saddam Hussein, ahead of the second summit of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, due to convene in late September in Caracas. Mr Chavez, who holds the rotating OPEC presidency, is currently touring all 10 member capitals in preparation for the summit, the first since 1975. Before his visit Mr Chavez, reportedly, convinced the Iraqi leader to agree to an oil price band of $20-$25 per barrel, an idea Baghdad had previously rejected.

Although Iraq is not currently included in OPEC's quota system, because its production is governed by the UN oil-for-food programme, the country's export of 2.6 million barrels a day is taken into account in OPEC calculations. Furthermore, Iraq is one of the few OPEC members with major undeveloped fields which can, ultimately, be tapped to meet the rising global demand for crude oil.

While the Iraqi media hailed Mr Chavez as a "man of principle", the US argued his visit conferred legitimacy on the Iraqi president. State Department spokesman, Mr Richard Boucher, said it was "particularly galling" that the first state visit to Baghdad since the war was made by a democratically elected leader. Mr Chavez, a populist, was reelected by a landslide at the end of last month. During his first term he displeased Washington by cultivating relations with Cuba, China and Libya. Mr Chavez yesterday defended his trip, saying: "Venezuela is an independent state which is pursuing its own interests."

Before going to Baghdad he held consultations in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Iran. Mr Chavez said the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which have not restored relations with Iraq, had not objected to the visit.

Following a meeting yesterday morning, Mr Chavez and the Iranian President, Mr Muhammad Khatami, stressed the need for OPEC members to stabilise the oil market.