NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 26: Minister of State for External Affairs Ajit Panja's Iraq visit has landed him and consequently India smack in the midst of a diplomatic muddle which officials hastily moved to unscramble today.The Foreign Office, which usually ignores Panja's jaunts abroad, took note of his trip to Baghdad with a lengthy briefing this afternoon. The unstated purpose clearly was to nip in the bud the impression created by Panja in Baghdad that India may join hands with Russia and France to defy the United Nations-imposed aerial embargo on Iraq.Perhaps US Chief Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Michael Sheehan's presence in Delhi today prodded the MEA into quick action. Or maybe it was Washington's harsh condemnation of the Russian decision to send its planes to Baghdad. ``The flight was done in clear defiance of the UN and its established procedures,'' said United States State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.Whatever had MEA's reflexes working overtime, the Foreign Office spokesman stressed at today's briefing that India was operating ``strictly within the parameters of UN resolutions'' in its dealings with Iraq.He also rushed to clarify Panja's remark to Iraq's official news agency, that India was considering the possibility of sending flights to Baghdad. Going by the official clarification, Panja did not mean what he implied. When he said India was considering the possibility, Panja actually meant India was studying the issue as per the interpretation of the UN resolutions, according to the MEA spokesman.As the Foreign Office tied itself into knots over its flatfooted diplomacy, it became increasingly clear that Panja's unfortunate Baghdad sojourn was actually the result of MEA's sloth over international developments relating to Iraq. Although the dates of his trip must have been finalised some weeks ago, the fact of the matter is that the Foreign Office completely overlooked the fact that the timing could not have been worse.The result is that Panja blundered into a raging battle between the US on one side and Russia and France on the other over the aerial embargo on Iraq. Both countries have broken rank with the US on this issue. Russia sent its third flight to Baghdad while Panja was there and France had sent a plane just a few days before the MOS landed in that country. Clearly an inopportune time for an Indian leader to be in Iraq.To add to the comedy of errors, Panja's visit took place on the eve of a crucial meeting of the UN Committee on Sanctions against Iraq which was to discuss a French proposal to modify the rules of the flight embargo. Before the Committee had even met, Panja announced in Baghdad that India was considering the possibility of sending to Iraq a ``plane carrying Indian personalities to support efforts to lift the embargo''.The statement was subsequently denied by the MEA as the implications for Indo-US relations seeped in through the blanket of euphoria enveloping the foreign policy establishment after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's trip to Washington. Panja disappeared to Calcutta and was not available for comment.
