Aircraft from Arab and European countries continued to land at Baghdad's Saddam International Airport yesterday in spite of a UN ban on flights. Since the airport reopened in August, planes from 40 countries have flown into the Iraqi capital, including Tuesday's flight carrying humanitarian supplies from Ireland.
The highest-ranking official to arrive yesterday was Jordan's Prime Minister, Mr Ali Abul Ragheb, who became the first Arab head of government to visit Baghdad since 1991. He was accompanied by ministers, members of parliament, officials and journalists.
The object of the Jordanian visit is to review the $600 million protocol governing the cut-price sale of Iraqi crude oil to Jordan. The kingdom, totally dependent on Iraqi oil, was permitted to carry on this trade when sanctions were imposed on Baghdad in 1990 after the Iraqi army occupied Kuwait.
The Iranian Minister of Transport, Mr Mahmoud Hojjati, is also in Iraq to attend the opening of Iraq's Trade Fair. A record 1,500 firms from 45 countries are participating in this year's fair.
Mr Hojjati's visit follows the diplomatic breakthrough by the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mr Kamal Kharrazi, who on October 12th was the first senior member of his government to go to Iraq since the war with Iran.
The resumption of air traffic and wide international representation at the fair are seen by opponents of sanctions as means to erode the embargo which the US and Britain refuse to lift. Arab governments, bitterly disappointed over the US failure to deliver a regional settlement, are no longer prepared to ostracise Iraq, which attended last month's Arab summit.
Arab flights to Iraq began soon after the failure of the Camp David summit in July and have increased in frequency since the Palestinian rising on September 28th.
Syria is also set to break sanctions by reopening an oil pipeline - closed since 1982 - across its territory to permit the export of 200,000 barrels of Iraqi crude oil a day.
According to the authoritative Nicosia-based oil publication Middle East Economic Survey, the timing of this move is highly significant. Syria and Iraq signed an agreement to reopen the pipeline in 1998 but did not prepare for implementation until a few weeks ago. Oil is expected to flow again by mid-November.
The "move reflects widespread anger in the Arab world at the Americans' lack of even-handedness as far as the peace process and sanctions on Iraq are concerned", the journal said.
