U.S., Russia strengthen consensus on Iraq

MOSCOW -- Russian and U.S. diplomats said Thursday they have built a stronger consensus on a refined U.N. oil-for-food program for Iraq, clearing the way for quick approval by the U.N. Security Council.

"Our hope is that the council will act as soon as possible and it will act unanimously on this new resolution," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Wolf told reporters in Moscow.

Russia's Foreign Ministry also hailed the outcome of the two-day consultations, saying they helped reach "significant progress in coordinating the main parameters" of the future sanctions scheme.

The so-called oil-for-food program began in 1996 to help ordinary Iraqis cope with sanctions imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. It initially provided food and basic humanitarian goods but has expanded to cover public services such as education and water supply. Funded by oil sales, the program has become the mainstay of the Iraqi civilian economy.

Russia, Iraq's top trade partner and its closest ally on the Security Council, had long backed Baghdad's demand to lift the sanctions altogether. It has blocked previous attempts by the United States and Britain to push through a revamped version of the U.N. oil-for-food program for Iraq.

With relations improving between Washington and Moscow, Russia agreed last fall to approve the new list of goods restricted for export to Iraq by May 30.

The goal of the refined sanctions is to loosen restrictions on strictly civilian goods or completely remove them from the sanctions list to ease civilian suffering. It would also tighten controls on items that could help Iraq build up its weapons arsenal.

Wolf said a stronger U.N.-Russian consensus on the new list of goods would enable the U.N. Security Council to start drafting a resolution that could be passed as early as next month.

"I'm very hopeful that on the basis of our discussions, Russia will not only be a part of the consensus but ... lead the effort to achieve the consensus" said Wolf, rotating president of the Security Council.

The U.N. sanctions can be abolished only after international inspectors report that Iraq has eliminated its weapons of mass destruction. Baghdad claims it has done so, but has not let inspectors into the country since 1998, saying sanctions must be lifted first.

Moscow hopes that lifting the sanctions would allow Baghdad to start paying off its $7 billion Soviet-era debt and help expand trade.

Russian officials said a total of $860 million in new contracts were frozen by the U.N. sanctions committee at Washington's prodding as of last fall. Wolf said the freezing was apolitical and necessary to prevent any military exports.

Wolf said that Russian contracts worth more than $700 million had been processed over the last five months.

"The process of contract review is separate from the question of drafting the new resolution," he said.