Chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix accepted Iraq’s invitation to hold talks in Baghdad ahead of a report he is due to present to the UN Security Council on January 27. A UN spokesman said discussions were underway with the Iraqis on setting a date for Blix and IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei to visit. General Amer al-Saadi, a top advisor to President Saddam Hussein, sent Blix a letter proposing he come to Iraq "between the second and third week of January" to discuss cooperation between the two sides, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) news agency said. Blix is due to report on the work of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) in Iraq to the UN Security Council on January 27. The proposed talks would aim at “reviewing cooperation between us during the past period and looking at ways of boosting that cooperation in the coming months to realize our common objective of a speedy implementation of UNMOVIC's mandate," Saadi wrote, according to the Arabic text carried by INA.
This one looks like bureaucracy at work: Blix is going to vet the report with the Iraqis before submitting it. Independent little cuss, isn't he? |