United Nations Spokesman Fred Eckhard on Monday confirmed that the next round of talks between UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and a high-ranking Iraqi delegation would be held in early July.
He would not, however, provide information on the exact dates or location.
"Early July it is. It is probably going to be coordinated with one of the secretary-generals trips. We are not ready to announce that trip yet," he told the daily briefing, according to KUNA.
Later on, a UN official said that Kofi Annan is scheduled to travel in early July to Geneva and Rome. The talks may, however, take place in Vienna, which hosts the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Eckhard was reacting to comments made by Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, who told the Iraqi satellite television on Sunday that the talks would be held in July, without specifying dates or the location.
KUNA added that several rounds of talks have been held in New York since February 2001. However, the last round, held on May 1-3 seemed to convince Baghdad and Annan to hold future rounds elsewhere because the visiting Iraqi delegation arrived in three waves due to U.S. visa problems.
The talks deal with the possible return of U.N. weapons inspectors to Iraq.
Meanwhile, the U.N. and Iraq are scheduled to sign a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the next few days regarding the new sanctions regime adopted by the Security Council last week.
It allows humanitarian goods to flow into Iraq, but tightens the grip on dual-use items that could be applied in both humanitarian and military fields. (Albawaba.com)
