DUBAI, 10 June 2004 — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar yesterday welcomed the new UN resolution on Iraq, hailing it as a step to achieving full sovereignty and calling on Iraqis to seize the opportunity for change.
“The UAE welcomes the UN Security Council resolution on Iraq and appeals to all sectors of the Iraqi people to seize this historic opportunity to close the past page of differences, divisions and violence,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman told the official WAM news agency. He also urged Iraqis to “join hands in one coherent front to get Iraq out of its current situation in order to restore security and stability.”
The international consensus on the resolution “provides a legitimate international umbrella for the return of full sovereignty to Iraq and its legitimate leadership,” he added.
Neighboring Qatar said the resolution “is a step ... on the road to Iraq recovering its sovereignty and independence and controlling its natural resources,” state news agency QNA said, quoting a Cabinet statement.
The Cabinet called on the international community to “guarantee the resolution’s application and ensure the interim government the favorable conditions to install a democratic regime, to hold elections on the scheduled date and to draft a permanent constitution,” it added.
The UN Security Council Tuesday voted unanimously in favor of a resolution endorsing the sovereignty of the new Baghdad government that will take power June 30.
