United Nations: With the ouster of Saddam Hussein's regime, the US will be moving to UN Security Council for lifting of more than a decade-old sanctions against Iraq, even as it announced suspending its own economic embargoes against that country.

A "forward looking" resolution seeking lifting of sanctions is likely to be circulated among the Security Council members this week, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said after an hour-long meeting on May 7 evening with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss the move.

The proposed resolution would be co-signed by Britain and Spain.

Earlier, US President George Bush urged UNSC members to lift sanctions against Iraq, saying no country should use sanctions "to hold back the Iraqi people".

"The regime that the sanctions were directed against no longer rules Iraq and no country in good conscience can support using sanctions to hold back the hopes of the Iraqi people," Bush said in Washington after meeting Spain's Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.

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The resolution proposes creation of an international advisory board comprising Secretary General Kofi Annan, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and US oil executives to oversee oil exports and to ensure the revenue earned is spent in way that benefits Iraqi people, diplomats and officials said here.

Washington announced lifting of its own sanctions on Iraq, saying it was an essential step in providing for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people and for commencing the reconstruction process in the war-ravaged country.

PTI