"Aziz denies Iraq role in UN scandal"

Tariq Aziz, deputy prime minister under Saddam Hussein, has denied Iraq exploited the scandal-hit UN oil-for-food programme, his defence lawyer said.

A day after his first meeting with the former public face of Saddam's administration, Badih Arif dismissed speculation that Aziz might testify against his former colleagues or give evidence on alleged corruption at the United Nations.

"We used to offer assistance to parties, institutions and states that stood by Iraq. We helped them via the United Nations because the oil-for-food programme was a legitimate programme supervised by the UN," the lawyer quoted Aziz as saying.

"This cannot be considered bribery because it was our right to sell oil to those who wanted it and we could not affect the price at all, as it was set by the United Nations itself."

Full Article : aljazeera.net