BAGHDAD Iraq said Monday the UN Security Council's offer to declare the country free of nuclear weapons was not enough and failed to address Baghdad's calls for a lifting of economic sanctions. The Security Council's decision does not match up to the minimum of Iraq's demands, nor its huge sacrifices in disarmament, the Iraqi cabinet said, quoted in official newspapers. The cabinet, in a meeting chaired by President Saddam Hussein, dismissed the move as insufficient and said Iraq is still waiting for the Security Council to lift the embargo, in force since Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The Security Council last Thursday said its offer on nuclear weapons depended on Iraq providing answers to all outstanding questions from the International Atomic Energy Agency. The 15-member council is set to discuss closing the nuclear file in July at the earliest.

Despite the progress, a crippling oil embargo can be lifted only after Iraq fully complies with UN requirements that all its nuclear, biological and chemical weapons as well as long-range missiles be dismantled. (AFP)