Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan today dismissed British and US ideas for easing sanctions against Iraq as poison.
"Britain and the United States are partners in prolonging the blockade. What they said may mislead those who do not know the reality but in fact what they said is poison," Ramadan told reporters on an official visit to Tunisia.
He was answering questions about a meeting between a senior British diplomat and US officials in Washington on Thursday to explore switching to so-called smart sanctions, focused more on arms control while removing curbs on civilian goods imposed after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
Iraq policy, including sanctions, will be reviewed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George Bush in talks on Friday and Saturday at Camp David, the US presidential retreat.
Ramadan, who arrived in Tunis today for an official visit, said opposition to British/US joint air strikes near Baghdad last Friday would help Iraq win more support to end sanctions.
The last aggression led the world to understand the reasons for the aggression and the extension of the blockade. After that aggression the world will adopt a serious position towards Iraq and towards cooperation with Iraq in all fields, he added.
Washington and London insist sanctions cannot be finally lifted until Iraq complies with 1991 Gulf War ceasefire resolutions and allows UN weapons inspectors to oversee elimination of its weapons of mass destruction programmes.
But Iraq, which refused to let inspectors back after a wave of U.S.- British air strikes in December 1998, argues it has already met its obligations and has rallied international support for a complete end to what it calls blockade.
A split among NATO members over last Friday's bombing of air defence installations on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital deepened on Monday with France condemning the action as illegal and Germany withholding public support.
Russia said the air strikes were counterproductive to efforts to resolve Baghdad's standoff with the West on weapons' inspections.