The United Nations and Iraq have postponed their scheduled April talks on the return of UN weapons inspectors to Baghdad, UN sources said today.
The delay was at the request of Iraq because Baghdad did not want anything to detract from the crisis in the Middle East, one source said. A new date was not set.
The talks between UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan and Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri were scheduled for April 18th - 19th to discuss for the second time this year the return of inspectors.
The UN weapons inspectors left Iraq on the eve of a US-British air strike in December 1998, meant to punish Baghdad for not cooperating with the arms experts.
They have been barred from returning to check if Iraq has any weapons of mass destruction programs, key to lifting UN sanctions imposed shortly after Baghdad's troops invaded Kuwait in August 1990.