U.N.: Flights to Iraq flout sanctions

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A second flight unauthorised by the United Nations' Iraqi sanctions committee has touched down in Baghdad.

The Russian airliner, which left Moscow on Saturday, had a soccer team, a musical group, businessmen and medical supplies on board.

The trip, criticised by the U.S. and Britain, came 24 hours after a plane carrying 80 passengers flew from France to Baghdad without U.N. authority.

The Russian flight, carrying 143 passengers and five tons of cargo, including medicines, is the latest challenge to sanctions on Iraq, imposed by the U.N. after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

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The head of Russia's Central Fuel Company, Yuri Shafranik, was also on board, and is expected to have meetings with senior oil officials. Iraqi oil ministry officials greeted the Russian delegation on arrival in Baghdad.

Russia did not ask permission for the flight from the U.N. sanctions committee, saying authorisation was not required because the flight is humanitarian.

On board Friday's French flight were 25 doctors, surgeons and nurses who planned to spend a few days in Iraq helping the local doctors.

Paris notified the U.N. Security Council's Iraqi sanctions committee about the flight from Charles de Gaulle airport late on Thursday without asking for permission.

The United States and Britain said agreement by all members of the sanctions committee was needed for such flights.

Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Britain's ambassador to the U.N., said: "If flights from abroad are not (submitted) to the sanctions committee, that is a contravention."

U.S. representative James Cunningham said: "This is a violation of the sanctions regime, something that we deeply regret and are quite disappointed in, both in terms of the substance and the procedure that was followed by France."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: "At a time when Iraq continues to defy the U.N. sanctions regime ... France, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has allowed a flight to Iraq in blatant violation of U.N. sanctions resolutions."

But French ambassador at the U.N. Jean-David Levitte said: "You will not be surprised we don't have the same analysis of the situation. For many years now we have considered there is no flight embargo against Iraq."

Russia and France argue that the sanction controls do not specifically ban passenger flights, and Russia's state-controlled airline Aeroflot is negotiating with Iraq on resuming flights to Baghdad.

Russia is eager to resume oil contracts with Baghdad and wants Iraq to pay back $8 billion in Soviet-era debt.

A Russian company last week sent a plane carrying 11 oil experts and five tons of medicine to Baghdad after obtaining permission from the U.N. sanctions committee.

A group of politicians is also planning a flight from Paris to Baghdad on September 29. U.N. resolutions require the sanctions to remain in place until Baghdad complies with demands to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.

French plane heads for Iraq despite sanctions
September 22, 2000
Russia oil firm plans second flight to Iraq
September 19, 2000

United Nations
French Government
Russian Government
Mission of Iraq to the U.N.

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