Iraqi officials have held talks with the US envoy to the UN on ways to remove the war-torn country from Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

During a meeting between Iraqi National Security Advisor Muwaffaq al-Rubai and US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Baghdad on Monday, the two sides discussed Iraq's demand for a new UN Security Council resolution to protect the country's assets abroad.

Under a recently passed security agreement between Baghdad and Washington, the US agreed to take effective steps to remove Iraq from Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

According to a UN Security Council resolution, passed after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the international community is obliged to deal with Iraq under Chapter VII which determines the framework for dealing with a country which poses a threat to global security.

Until 2003, the US had been insisting that Chapter VII should apply to Iraq because the Saddam regime was pursuing a program to develop weapons of mass destruction. However, no WMDs had found in Iraq despite the US allegations.

Chapter VII allows the international community to freeze the assets of a country which poses a threat to world security.

SB/DT