Pope to Meet Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister

Posted on Wed, Feb. 05, 2003

Pope to Meet Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II plans to meet with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz on Feb. 14, the very day weapons inspectors are to deliver progress reports to the U.N. Security Council, the Vatican announced Wednesday.

The assessment by chief inspector Hans Blix and head nuclear inspector Mohamed ElBaradei could help swing the diplomatic balance on war.

In a brief statement, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said Aziz had requested the meeting with John Paul, and that the pope had agreed to see him.

The Vatican has been outspoken in its opposition to a new conflict against Iraq, with top officials saying a preventive strike would have no legal or moral justification, and warning that it could unleash anti-Christian sentiment in the Muslim world.

John Paul himself has said a war against Iraq would be a "defeat for humanity." He has said military action must be used only as a last resort and under strict conditions.

The pope has also been a longtime critic of U.N. sanctions against Iraq imposed after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The last time Aziz called on the pope, in 1998, the two discussed the embargo.

During that visit, Aziz also met with the then-Italian foreign minister, Lamberto Dini. An Italian Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday there were no plans for any meetings with Aziz.

Aziz announced the papal meeting in an interview published Wednesday with the French newspaper Le Figaro, in which he said Baghdad didn't want a war with America and was ready to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors.

© 2001 kansascity and wire service sources.