Iraqi Vice President Taha Yasin Ramadan stressed on Sunday that Iraq was resolute in its decision to stop cooperating with UN weapons inspectors "regardless of the sacrifices".

His comments were made during the inauguration of the 31st Baghdad International Fair.

The following are excerpts from Ramadan's comments, as quoted by the official Iraqi news agency INA.

Our leadership and people are determined to continue down this path, regardless of the sacrifices, until the unjust siege is lifted, particularly since Iraq has fulfilled all its commitments in accordance with Resolution 687.

In the ninth year of the unjust blockade, the decision-makers at the Council, instead of looking to their consciences, instead of having some shame after the lies about presidential sites and the banned material they contained were exposed, in addition to the VX lie... we find that the UNSCOM chairman calls on Iraq for more explanations and more measures and that his masters, the Americans and Zionists, have no intention of taking simple steps over the suffering of more than 22m Iraqis.

"High time this injustice ended" It is high time that this injustice ended and the international community kept its word and ended the injustice the Iraqi people are being exposed to.

This injustice is shown by the continued blockade, which basically has no legal or moral justification.

Although the agreement is a temporary and modest formula and does not even ensure the minimum of Iraq's humanitarian needs, its implementation has not been spared obstruction and hampering by the United States through its control over the decisions of Committee 661, which it steers according to its own designs.

"Hostile US policy... with British support" The hostile US policy against Iraq and its people has led, with British support, to the disruption and suspension of several contracts under the agreement.

Even now, a year and a half after first phase of the agreement, over a year after the second phase and more than five months after the third, there are still scores of contracts which have been suspended at the sole request of the US representative.

Despite the imminent end , for there are only a few weeks left, many obstacles have been placed in the way of the fourth phase.

"Objective, responsible stand" We still hope that sisterly and friendly countries will adopt an objective, responsible stand towards lifting the sanctions imposed on Iraq, since Iraq has implemented all the essential obligations stipulated in the related Security Council resolutions.