DATE=7/30/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=INDIA IRAQ U-N (L)
NUMBER=2-252336
BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE
DATELINE=NEW DELHI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: India says it has no intention of breaking U-N
sanctions on Iraq and will only extend credit to
Baghdad if the United Nations approves. U-N diplomats
had questioned statements made in the Iraqi capital by
India's Oil Minister which appeared to indicate India
was going ahead with loans to Iraq, in violation of
sanctions on Baghdad which have been in effect since
the end of the Gulf War. V-O-A's Jim Teeple has more
from our New Delhi bureau.
Text: India's Foreign Ministry has given an emphatic
denial to reports India was planning to break U-N
sanctions with a 25-million dollar credit to Baghdad,
as well as separate deals to exploit Iraq's vast oil
reserves and sell an Iraqi company one-thousand buses.
India says it will extend a 25-million dollar credit
to Baghdad for humanitarian purposes, but only if the
loan is approved by the U-N committee which monitors
compliance with sanctions on Iraq. Raminder Jassal,
the chief spokesman for India's Foreign Ministry says
India has no intention of breaking sanctions.
/// Jassal act ///
While we remain concerned at the suffering of the
Iraqi people, we strictly adhere to all relevant U-N
resolutions regarding Iraq.
/// end act ///
Mr. Jassal says India's Oil Minister was misquoted in
Baghdad when he reportedly said India would go ahead
with plans to offer loans to Iraq to purchase one-
thousand buses manufactured by an Indian company.
In recent days India and Iraq have reportedly reached
agreement on several major oil exploration deals, but
India's Foreign Ministry says any such agreements will
also be subject to U-N resolutions on Iraq.
/// rest opt ///
Russia and China have called for sanctions on Iraq
to be suspended once a new disarmament monitoring
system is put in place. The United States supports a
British-Dutch initiative, which would replace the oil-
embargo with import controls if Iraq agrees to
cooperate with U-N weapons inspectors. (Signed)
NEB/JLT/RAE
30-Jul-1999 09:16 AM LOC (30-Jul-1999 1316 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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