In Iraq, Brahimi continues talks with officials on handover of sovereignty

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi, today continued his talks with various officials in Iraq on the future of the country following the handover of sovereignty at the end of June.

Mr. Brahimi met with Ibrahim Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum, Iraq's current oil minister, and later with the leaders of Baghdad's Provincial Council, who represent some seven million Iraqis living around the capital, a UN spokesman said in New York.

Afterwards, Mr. Brahimi also briefed representatives of European Union countries in Iraq on his current mission.

Yesterday the Secretary-General and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy met for talks on Iraq and the way forward in that country, including a new Security Council resolution on the UN role.

Speaking to reporters after their meeting, the Secretary-General said the talks also touched on the need for the entire international community "to pool its efforts to try and help stabilize the situation in Iraq."

Mr. Berlusconi said as far as he was concerned, "I could see there is a strong commitment on the part of the Secretary-General to contribute in the formation of a new government following suggestions given by the Brahimi mission and that this government can then also be approved by the Security Council."