Iraq, Spain urge UN to return to Iraq
Reuters, Baghdad
The foreign ministers of Spain and Iraq called yesterday for the United Nations to return to the US-occupied country as soon as possible to help oversee the upcoming handover of power back to Iraqis. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said he still considers the security situation too precarious to risk allowing staff to return. In October, UN international staff were pulled out following two suicide bombings at its headquarters, one of which killed 22 people, and an upsurge in attacks against humanitarian targets. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said after talks with his Spanish counterpart Ana Palacio that Iraq's Governing Council wanted the United Nations to help oversee the process of handing sovereignty back to an Iraqi government by end-June.
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