Iraq hopes for diplomatic boost

The hijack gave Baghdad airport a rare chance to welcome passengers

By BBC News Online's Kate Milner

The peaceful end to the Saudi Arabian Airlines hijack crisis in Baghdad is likely to be seen as a diplomatic coup for Iraq and further weaken the crumbling 10-year air embargo.

Technically, the hijacked plane that landed at Saddam International airport on Saturday, broke the UN embargo put in place after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

Iraqi officials negotiated with the hijackers for less than an hour

But that embargo has been challenged in recent weeks, with several deliveries of humanitarian aid to Baghdad, some with UN authorisation and some without.

The first challenge to the embargo was by France and Russia, who did not wait for UN approval before flying medical supplies to Iraq in late September.

The UN has never banned humanitarian flights to Iraq, but few have been made until recently because of the need to get approval. But now France and Russia argue it is enough to simply notify the UN sanctions committee.

Since then the UN has approved flights by a number of countries including Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Morocco, Yemen and Jordan.

Others who have flown without permission include the United Arab Emirates, which has been particularly vocal in efforts to seek an end to the sanctions

Warming relations

The last Iraq Airways flight left Baghdad on 17 January 1991, as the Gulf War was about to begin.

Since then, the Saddam International airport has sat largely empty.

The sanctions have caused severe hardship for the Iraqi people but have failed to weaken the position of President Saddam Hussein as the US and the UK intended. Both countries continue to patrol "no-fly zones" in the north and south of Iraq.

Now that Iraqi authorities have secured the release of 90 hijacked airline passengers, including British and US nationals, Iraq has gained what may be seen as a moral victory.

It could lead to a further warming-up of international relations after years of diplomatic isolation.

Syrian link

On 8 October a Syrian plane flew to Baghdad for the first time in 20 years, carrying officials, doctors and food and medicine.

Damascus and Baghdad broke off ties in 1980 after Syria supported Iran against Iraq in those two countries' eight-year war. Syria then joined the American-led coalition against Iraq in 1991.

The UN embargo can be lifted only after Iraq proves it has destroyed all its weapons of mass destruction. Baghdad says it has done so, but it refuses to co-operate with UN arms inspectors.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council disagree on whether non-commercial flights need to be authorised. The US and UK insist all flights must have approval from the sanctions committee, while China, France and Russia take a laxer view.