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U.N.-Iraq Talks Called Off

The United Nations and Iraq delayed their scheduled April talks on the return of arms inspectors because Baghdad wanted to keep the world's focus on the Middle East crisis, a U.N. spokesman announced on Friday.

The talks between U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri were scheduled for April 18-19 to discuss for the second time this year the return of inspectors. No new date has been set.

The two met for one day, March 7, in their first high-level talks in a year.

Annan had said he hoped the talks would focus on the return of arms inspectors to the Mideast nation.

"The secretary-general's talks with Iraqi officials, which had been scheduled to take place next week have now been postponed at the request of the Iraqi delegation," U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

"We are in the process of trying to find new suitable dates for these discussions," he said.

Eckhard said Iraqi officials "indicated to us that they did not want anything to distract from the attention being given the problem in the Middle East."

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been trying to obtain favor in the Arab world, presumably to get support against the United States which has threatened to topple his government.

He recently increased the cash bounty he would pay families of suicide bombers who attack Israel to $25,000 from $10,000.

The U.N. weapons inspectors left Iraq on the eve of a U.S.-British air strike in December 1998, meant to punish Baghdad for not cooperating with the arms experts.

They have been barred from returning to check if Iraq has any weapons of mass destruction programs, key to lifting U.N. sanctions imposed shortly after Baghdad's troops invaded Kuwait in August 1990.

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