UN chief, Maliki discuss lifting Iraq sanctions
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in Baghdad Friday that the United Nations is considering scrapping sanctions imposed on Iraq during Saddam Hussein's regime before the 2003 US-led invasion.
Ban, on a surprise visit to Iraq, met with senior Iraqi officials including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to discuss the issue one day after the Shia premier's allies swept to victory in provincial elections.
"The UN is in the process of reviewing all the resolutions and on my return I will discuss this issue with the Security Council," Ban said at a joint press conference with the premier.
Maliki said: "We discussed the ending of UN sanctions on Iraq, which were (imposed) after the aggression of the previous regime. We asked for a review of all the resolutions imposed on Iraq so we can return to the rank of normal nations."
The UN slapped comprehensive sanctions on Iraq after Saddam's invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. Although many of those were lifted after 2003, an arms embargo and some financial restrictions were left in place.
Up to 1.7 million Iraqis may have died as a result of the tough sanctions that savaged the economy and crippled the country's health care system, according to a previous UN report.
Ban met President Jalal Talabani soon after his arrival in the Iraqi capital.
"I came to Iraq today in order to congratulate the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government after last Saturday's provincial elections and to show the support of the international community during this momentous time," he said.
The UN chief's previously unannounced visit came after preliminary results of Saturday's election showed that candidates backed by the premier dominated a poll that is expected to reshape Iraq's fractured political landscape.
The United Nations provided the Independent High Electoral Commission with assistance in organising the poll which was held in 14 of 18 provinces.
The result was a major vote of confidence for the prime minister, whose standing has grown steadily both at home and abroad over the past year.
Candidates backed by Maliki dominated in Baghdad and in eight of the country's nine Shia-majority provinces.
Just over half of the Iraqi electorate voted in the provincial poll, which was seen as a vital test of the country's progress since the US-led invasion ousted Saddam from power almost six years ago
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