Iraq Seeks To Sell Oil For Humanitarian Aid

Suffering under tight U.N.-imposed trade restrictions, Iraq on Tuesday said it was ready to negotiate with the United Nations on a limited oil sale so it can buy humanitarian supplies, sources said.

The decision came on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Gulf War, during which a U.S.-led force drove Iraq from Kuwait. The U.N. Security Council imposed the sanctions after Iraq invaded in August 1990.

The sanctions prevent Iraq from exporting its oil, and the country’s 20 million people face skyrocketing inflation and widespread shortages. The United Nations has offered to let Iraq sell up to $4 billion of oil a year to pay for food and medicine. Iraq repeatedly rejected the offer as a violation of its sovereignty.

But on Tuesday, sources said, Iraqi Ambassador Nizar Hamdoon told envoys from Botswana, Chile, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau and Honduras, all currently members of the Security Council, that Iraq was ready to enter into such a deal.