U.S. Eases Stand on Iraqi Reparations

WASHINGTON —  U.S. officials have signaled their willingness to allow Iraq to divert only 30% of its oil revenue to Persian Gulf War reparations, a softening of Washington’s earlier insistence that as much as half of Iraq’s oil income be earmarked for that purpose.

Other members of the U.N. Security Council and the world body’s secretary general, Javier Perez de Cuellar, had recommended 30% of the revenue as the maximum that should be demanded from Baghdad in light of its shattered economy.

“It’s not a done deal,” said an American diplomat who is close to discussions under way on the subject. “We may accept a 30% ceiling now, but we would definitely want to be able to get more if Iraq’s economic conditions improve.”

In a related action Friday, the Security Council informally agreed to leave in place postwar sanctions that continue to bar any sales of Iraqi oil abroad and forbid Baghdad to import any goods except those needed for humanitarian purposes. The Security Council’s sanctions resolution of April 3, which the council must review every two months, requires Iraq to scrap all its remaining weapons of mass destruction before it can begin selling oil again.

A final decision on the percentage of Iraq’s oil revenue that it must pay for reparations will be made by the Geneva-based U.N. Compensation Commission.

Because the United States has no veto power within the commission, it wants other members to commit themselves to the 30% figure as a floor--not a ceiling.