Dmitry Litvinovich: Iraq is changing its image

Iraqi authorities have invited UN human rights officials to Iraq for the first time in ten years. Iraq prohibited the international representatives to enter the country in 1992 after news pertaining to the violation of the human rights.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov tried to convince Iraq of the necessity for the UN inspectors to return to the country, since Moscow believes that the issue of the lifting of sanctions against Iraq will be possible only after the renewal of international monitoring. However, the issue regarding the total cancellation of the embargo against Iraq was not discussed at that. Iraq thought it had executed all the requirements of the UN, so the Security Council was supposed to cancel the sanctions, as it is stipulated in the basic resolution on Iraq (number 687), and not impose new limitations and restrictions.

Moscow is very sensitive to even tiny changes of the sympathies of the world community towards Iraq, which is why it is trying to make Iraq realize that if it does not do allow inspectors to return, then Moscow will no longer be able to help. Tareq Aziz, the Iraqi vice-premier, perceived Russia's position in the right way, and there could be some progress in that direction.

Baghdad is carefully watching the world community's reacting to the USA’s statements regarding Iraq as a new target of the "anti-terrorist" operation. Access for UN experts to Iraq is a main requirement of the USA.

The current visit will become the first visit of the UN experts for human rights to Iraq in ten years. The human rights department of the UN regularly accuses the Iraqi government of the violations. Last April, they accused Iraq of the organization of mass repression and terror. Nobody doubts that the decision of the Iraqi government to invite the UN representatives to come to Iraq was like a show for the audience, but Iraq’s so-called friends (Russia and China) will have another trump card in the negotiations pertaining to the future of Iraq.

Dmitry Litvinovich PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov