A senior US official met Kuwait's emir to discuss "smart sanctions" in Kuwait on Sunday and said Iraq must never again be allowed to pose a threat to its neighbors.
William Burns, on his first Gulf trip as US assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, said his talks with Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah also focused on efforts to revive the Middle East peace process, reported the official Kuwaiti news agency (KUNA).
"The US will continue to insist that Iraq must meet its relevant obligations under the UN Security Council resolutions ... Iraq must never again be allowed to be a threat to its neighbors," Burns told a press conference.
He said Washington remained committed to a plan to impose smart sanctions on Iraq, despite Russian opposition.
"What we are planning to do is to move away from the sanctions which have affected civilian trade to ease the burden on the Iraqi people and to put the focus on weapons control issues," he said.
"Obviously, we still have a great deal of work to do ... We have run into some questions, concerns and objections from the Russians, which we are still working on," said Burns.
"But we are encouraged by the progress we have made so far."
The smart sanctions plan rejected by Baghdad envisions increased trade with Iraq, while tightening controls on goods that could be used for military purposes and on oil smuggling.
The Security Council aims to reach agreement on the US-British proposals to impose smart sanctions on Iraq, which has been under a sweeping UN embargo since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, before a deadline of July 3.
The US Middle East envoy said his talks with the emir and Kuwait's acting premier and foreign minister, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, covered efforts to revive the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, according to KUNA.
"There is no military solution to the problem and what is essential ... is to move back to the political process. The situation remains very, very fragile," Burns warned.
Burns was appointed by US Secretary of State Colin Powell to help Palestinians and Israelis build a "timetable" for peace.
The US envoy held several meetings with Palestinian and Israeli officials in a bid to secure a US-brokered ceasefire to halt the bloodshed in the Palestinian territories - Albawaba.com
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