KOZYREV CALLS FOR EASING SANCTIONS ON IRAQ.

At a meeting with visiting Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz, Russian foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev said that Iraqi progress on human rights should lead the UN to ease or even lift the sanctions it had imposed on Baghdad, Interfax reported June 5. Were the sanctions to be lifted, Russia stands to gain a lot and not only diplomatically. Baghdad owes Moscow several billion dollars, and Russian oil firms are actively involved in Iraqi oil exploitation.

Northern Fleet Short of Men and Money.