Aziz did meet with Pope and he promised Pope that Iraq will cooperate with U.N.(i didn't know Aziz was not muslim)
Aziz Assures Pope Iraq Will Cooperate with U.N.
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VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz promised Pope John Paul (news - web sites) on Friday that the Iraqi government would cooperate with the international community on disarmament demands, the Vatican (news - web sites) said in a statement.
The statement, issued after a 30-minute private meeting between Aziz and the pope, also said the pontiff had told Aziz that Iraq must respect U.N. resolutions "with concrete commitments."
"Mr. Aziz wanted to give assurances about the willingness of the Iraqi government to cooperate with the international community, particularly over disarmament," the Vatican said.
"His holiness repeated the need to faithfully respect, with concrete commitments, the resolutions of the Security Council of the United Nations (news - web sites), which are the guarantors of international legality," it added.
Aziz, a Christian, came to Rome at his own request for talks with the pope, who is actively seeking a peaceful solution to the crisis and sent an envoy to Baghdad earlier this week.
Despite his age and frailty, the 82-year-old pope has become increasingly involved in diplomatic efforts to help avert a war with Iraq. Next Tuesday, he will see U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) on the subject.
He has urged the world not to resign itself to war and has asked for global prayers for peace.
Aziz, who made no comment after his talks with the pope, is due to hold a news conference at 1 p.m. EST.
The chief U.N. arms inspectors are due to make a key report later on Friday to the U.N. Security Council on the extent of Iraqi cooperation with their search for suspected weapons of mass destruction. Iraq says it has no such weapons. story.news.yahoo.com |
