US and UK to place Iraq's future oil revenue in UN-supervised account

The United States and Britain will place Iraq's future oil revenue in a UN-supervised account, said British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"President (George W.) Bush, Prime Minister (of Spain Jose Maria) Aznar and I have pledged Iraq's oil will be placed in a UN trust fund to benefit the people of Iraq and renew a once great nation," said Blair.

"We will work together towards lifting UN sanctions as soon as Iraq meets its obligations," he added, referring to the embargo imposed after Baghdad's August 1990 invasion of Kuwait, which ended seven months later.
"I want all Iraqis - Arab, Assyrian, Kurd, Turkoman, Sunni, Shiite, Christian and all other groups -- to share in the fruits of this new, prosperous Iraq, united within its current border," Blair said.
"British military forces will withdraw from Iraq as soon as practicable. We hope to see the early establishment of a transitional civilian administration," he stressed.

Blair's comment comes amid British press reports of differences between him and Bush on the role of the United Nations in post-war Iraq, including supervision of the vital oil sector.
Britain wants a prominent role for the UN while the United States is wary of its slow bureaucracy, offering the international organisation a backseat with mainly humanitarian prerogatives.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1472, allowing resumption of its "oil-for-food" programme for Iraq, giving Secretary General Kofi Annan control for 45 days over the humanitarian side of the UN programme that uses Iraq's oil revenues for food and medical supplies. Iraq swiftly rejected the resolution.
"Any measure which does not involve the Iraqi government cannot be implemented on the ground," said Information Minister Mohammed Said al-Sahhaf.

Al-Bawaba