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Boutros-Ghali meets

Iraqi negotiators

UNITED NATIONS: The UN secretary general met for the first time on Friday with both Iraqi and UN chief negotiators hammering out a deal that could lead to Baghdad resuming oil exports to buy food.

Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations Nizar Hamdoon told reporters that the meeting marked a "significant" development in the talks. The third round opened on Monday. A first round of technical talks started on February 6.

Boutros-Ghali's meeting with UN negotiator Hans Corell and Iraqi team leader Abdul Amir al-Anbari comes after he briefed the 15 Security Council members on progress in the talks and outlined obstacles, a UN spokesman said.

The negotiations focus on implementation of resolution 986 which enables Iraq to export two billion dollars of oil every six months to finance the delivery of humanitarian supplies.

But Baghdad has refused to implement the resolution on grounds that it infringes on Iraqi sovereignty. A main sticking point is distribution of aid to Kurds in northern Iraq which is no longer under government control.

Hamdoon declined to speculate on the outcome of Friday's meeting.

"Until there is an agreement, there is no agreement. Until we reach a final agreement, there is no way to make any assessment," he said.-AFP