Iraq to Resume Wheats Imports if Australia Drops Anti-Baghdad Stance: Minister

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, August 16, 2002

Iraq to Resume Wheats Imports if Australia Drops Anti-Baghdad Stance: Minister

Iraqi Trade Minister Mohammad Mehdi Salah said on Thursday Baghdad is ready to fully resume wheat imports from Australia as long as Canberra stops supporting US war threats against Iraq.

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Iraqi Trade Minister Mohammad Mehdi Salah said on Thursday Baghdad is ready to fully resume wheat imports from Australia as long as Canberra stops supporting US war threats against Iraq.

Imports of Australian wheat would return to normal level, namely2 million tons per year, once Iraq hears that Australia has changed its position "by declaring its opposition to any US military action against Iraq," Salah said at a press conference after a meeting with Andrew Lindberg, head of the Australian wheat board.

"We cannot buy wheat by one hand and see the bloodshed in our country by US missiles and bombs killing our people by the other hand," Salah said.

Salah noted that Iraq has been in talks with Canada on possible wheat imports in case Australia will not change its stance.

Russian and German wheat would also be imported to fill the gap, the minister said.

For his part, Lindberg said his council maintains good and close relations with Iraq and hopes that the Iraq-US disputes would be solved by diplomatic means. He promised to convey Iraq's attitude to the Australian government.

Salah said on July 22 Iraq would reduce its imports of wheat from Australia by half in retaliation for the latter's support for US war threats against Iraq.

In case Australia continues this attitude, Iraq would take harsher measures to punish it, possibly putting the Oceanian nation in a black list and severing trade relations with it, the minister said.

US President George W. Bush, who branded Iraq as part of an "axis of evil," has vowed to achieve a "regime change" in Iraq by using all the possible tools he has, including military actions.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer last month voiced strong support for US' preemptive military strikes against Iraq, thus Canberra was the first country in the world to support the Bush administration's "preemptive strategy on terrorism."

Australia has also committed itself to sending an armed brigade to a possible war against Iraq when the United States itself has not yet made up its mind and the US' European allies were all hesitating.

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