Iraq conveyed to the United Nations Secretariat the list of a large delegation of weapons experts that will take part in the top-level UN-Iraq talks scheduled for April 18th – 19th.
The Iraqi delegation, headed by Iraq’s Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, is comprised of twelve, mostly weapons experts, and an additional three from the Iraqi mission to the UN, Kuwait News Agency reported Thursday.
The Iraqi delegation, which participated in the talks last February 7th consisted of only six people, containing only one weapons expert.
Earlier this year, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan accepted to resume high-level talks with Iraq, which he started in February 2001. However, he made it clear this year that the talks must be focused on the return of the UN inspectors, which left Baghdad in December 1989.
In public, Baghdad still vows that it would never allow the inspectors back in. However, Annan had previously commented that what Iraqi officials say during private discussions differs from their public stand.
Head of the UN monitoring, verification and inspection commission Hans Blix was present at the last round of talks on February 7th and is expected to attend the meetings on April 18th-19th. (Albawaba.com)
