Iraqi Vice-President defies ban on flights

"The stoppage of flights was because we did not have the planes," Ramadan told the official Iraqi News Agency before departure. He did not say how Iraq received the planes he and Aziz are using, though last week the president of the Emirates-based Air Gulf Falcon donated a Boeing 747 to President Saddam Hussein.

Iraq has recently resumed domestic flights and since September, dozens of international flights from non-governmental organizations and foreign countries have arrived, seeking an end to UN sanctions imposed to punish Iraq for invading Kuwait in 1990.

Ramadan called on international airline companies to resume business with Iraq and said some countries are realizing that there is no legal foundation for banning flights to Iraq.

During his visit to India, Ramadan will attend the Iraqi-Indian common cooperation committee meeting, which resumed its work in 1998. Ramadan is accompanied by Oil Minister Amer Mohammed Rashid and other senior government officials.