EU Relaxes Arms Embargo On Iraq

23 July 2004 -- The European Union has eased its arms embargo on Iraq following a UN resolution that allows Iraq to import weapons for coalition troops and the country's newly formed security forces.

EU spokesman Jean Charles Ellermann-Kingombe said the bloc will not fully lift its ban on weapons exports to Iraq, which has been in place since the early 1990s.

But he said that individual EU countries can decide to send arms to Iraqi authorities in order to help them provide security.

(dpa/AP)