PRESS BRIEFING BY SECURITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON IRAQ
Press Briefing
PRESS BRIEFING BY SECURITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON IRAQ
19970325
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
The Security Council Committee monitoring sanctions against Iraq yesterday approved a list of priorities concerning food and medicine for that country, Committee Chairman Antonio Victor Martins Monteiro (Portugal) told correspondents at a press briefing Monday evening.
He said the Committee, which was established under resolution 661 (1990), had also agreed on a procedure to expedite the approval of contracts and to better use the money available, although certain financial technicalities needed further examination. The Committee would like to use the money immediately after receiving letters of credit on the oil sales, but now the Committee had to find out how to get letters of credit for goods. Another formal meeting on such matters would be held in the Portuguese Mission in the next few days in order to achieve the basic goal, which was to have the goods in Iraq as soon as possible.
Mr. Monteiro said that the list approved today by the Committee had been agreed upon in a formal meeting last Friday, 21 March, at the Portuguese Mission. It should be issued publicly later this week. The list illustrated the cooperation between the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA), which worked on food priorities, the World Health Organization (WHO) which dealt with medical priorities, and the Committee.
Also, he said, the Committee had decided to consider requests for humanitarian flights by Jordanian Airlines to Iraq on a case-by-case basis, and not as a regular service flight. It could not approve the establishment of weekly flights from Jordan to Iraq to bring medicine, pharmaceuticals and food supplies to the Iraqi people and to transport the elderly and sick, as requested by Jordan. He recalled that the Committee had considered an identical request from Jordan in October and had given the same response.
Regarding oil sales, he said the Committee had approved 40 oil contracts, which amounted to 112 million barrels. This week, 26 applications for food and medicine had been processed by the Secretariat and submitted to the Committee for its consideration, bringing the cumulative total to 82. Of those 82, the Committee approved 23 contracts for food and medicine last week, for a total of 57 approved contracts for food and medicine. Thirteen contracts were on hold. "Things are working better", he said.
In response to a question, he said 359 contracts for food and medicine had been submitted to the Secretariat.
Asked to comment on the agreement signed last week between the Russian Federation and Iraq concerning the development of oil fields, the Chairman said that at the meeting of the Committee, the representative of the Russian Federation, Alex Smirnoff, had raised the issue and stated that press reports describing the agreement as a violation of the sanctions were false. According to the representative, Russia was acting within the sanctions regime. The Committee had taken note of the Russian representative's declarations.
Asked further whether he, as the Chairman of the Committee, did not consider the accord a violation of the sanctions, the Chairman said that no Committee members had complained about the agreement and that the Russian representative himself had introduced the subject. He, as Chairman, had found out about the agreement in the press.
A correspondent asked if the Committee had considered the Turkish request to send spare parts for the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline. The Committee was waiting for additional information from the Turkish Mission, the Chairman replied.
When would goods be distributed to the people of Iraq? a correspondent asked. Mr. Monteiro said as soon as possible, but it was difficult to establish a date. Goods had actually arrived in Iraq and last week the Under- Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Yasushi Akashi, had assured him that the goods would be distributed as soon as possible. For a more precise answer, he suggested that the question be posed to Mr. Akashi.
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