(AP)Mohammed Aldouri, Iraq's United Nations (UN) Ambassador and the first Iraqi official to concede the fall of Saddam Hussein's government, is expected to leave New York for Paris today.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Aldouri planned eventually to go to the Syrian capital of Damascus en route home. However, they cautioned that Aldouri's plans were in flux and there could be a delay. The ambassador, himself, told reporters in an interview he had not completed his travel plans. "When I feel that everything is ready I will go. It's not easy to prepare yourself to leave," he said.
He spoke to Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, and then conferred with ambassadors and diplomats in a lounge at UN headquarters for several hours. "I wished him good luck," said Amr Moussa, the Arab League Secretary-General, who saw Aldouri before his own meeting with Annan.
With US troops in the heart of Baghdad, Aldouri told reporters yesterday: "Everything is over. There is no government that I represent. I am representing my country right now. The continuity of the state of Iraq will continue. The new people will come with their own mission and they will continue to work at the UN," he said.