KUALA LUMPUR, 23 February 2003 — Foreign ministers of the 114-member Non-Aligned Movement met yesterday as delegates reached a consensus on a joint statement on Iraq.
The draft statement includes references to Iraq’s compliance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions demanding its disarmament, said a delegate on condition of anonymity. Delegates refused to elaborate the exact nature of the consensus, saying that the document still had to be finalized by the foreign ministers ahead of the movement’s summit beginning tomorrow.
The original draft statement had pledged NAM member countries’ full support and solidarity with Iraq, and called for the lifting of UN sanctions against the country.
Amirhossein Zamani Niya, head of the Iranian delegation, had earlier told Deutsche Presse-Agentur that his team of officials had called for a “more balanced” statement with a stronger stand on Iraq’s required compliance with the UN Security Council resolutions.
