Two planes from Italy and Ukraine respectively landed in Baghdad overnight in further defiance of a crumbling UN air embargo, the official Iraqi news agency INA said Sunday.
The Italian plane carried a delegation of 40 political and cultural personalities to show "support for the Iraqi people under the embargo", INA said.
The eight-strong Ukranian delegation comprised political leaders who will hold talks with Iraqi officials on ways of developing bilateral cooperation, according to INA.
Iraq has been under economic sanctions, including a ban on regular flights, since it invaded Kuwait in August 1990.
Russia first tested the air embargo, landing at Baghdad International Airport after its reopening in mid-August, and scores more foreign planes carrying official delegations and humanitarian aid have since landed in Iraq.
Iraq, which has also resumed domestic flights for the first time in almost 10 years, insists the sanctions do not cover passenger flights, while the UN Security Council is divided on the issue -- BAGHDAD (AFP)
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