U.N. extends humanitarian program in Iraq for six months

UNITED NATIONS -- The Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to extend the U.N. humanitarian program in Iraq for six months and review a list of goods that Baghdad needs approval to import within 30 days.

The resolution represented a compromise between the United States, which wants to quickly add about 50 items with possible military uses to the list, and the other 14 council members, who wanted to renew the oil-for-food program for the usual six-month period.

The United States had been at odds with the rest of the Security Council on how long the program should be extended. The compromise preserves council unity over Iraq at a critical time, with U.N. weapons inspectors in the country carrying out a toughened search for illegal arms.

"It's absolutely a victory for common sense, and victory for the Security Council, and I would say victory for the Iraqi people," said Russia's U.N. Ambassador Sergey Lavrov. "We ensured ... that the humanitarian program continues uninterrupted."