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Journalism of Courage
OCT 2: Russian flagship carrier Aeroflot said on Monday it had signed a memorandum with an Iraqi Airways delegation on restoring a regular air service to the sanctions-bound country, though no date to begin flights had been set.
A spokeswoman for Aeroflot, which is 51 percent state-owned, told Reuters the document was signed last week in Moscow after several days of talks between the carriers.
Regular air service to Iraq has been suspended by U.N. sanctions since the 1990-91 Gulf War, triggered by Iraq’s invasion of neighbouring Kuwait.
The spokeswoman quoted the memorandum as saying Aeroflot intended to resume flights to Iraq "within the framework of a bilateral interstate agreement on air services".
Russia’s State Civil Aviation Service declined to comment on whether such a document had been or was being prepared.
The Aeroflot spokeswoman also said the memorandum called for Aeroflot to establish a representative office in Iraq and for Iraqi Airways to set up an office in Moscow.
Vnukovo Airlines, Russia’s largest domestic carrier, said last month it too hoped to begin Iraq flights and was waiting for government officials to make a decision permitting them.
Russia, along with France, argues that the UN Security Council never adopted a specific text banning all flights to or from Iraq. The United States and Britain say all flights are banned unless they are permitted by the sanctions committee.
Both Russia and France have in recent weeks sent flights to Iraq carrying humanitarian aid, and Jordan and Iceland have said they are planning to do so.
Iraq says there are no UN Security Council resolutions, governing the 1991 Gulf War ceasefire, that prevent Baghdad from flying civilian aircraft into and out of the country.
