The renewal of U.N. sanctions against Iraq turned out to be a notable event Monday, not that it changed any aspect of the nearly eight-year embargo but because it signalled a growing willingness to hear Iraqi complaints.

Iraqi officials expressed dismay the U.N. Security Council has taken no action to lift or even ease sanctions, following nearly two months of growing cooperation between Baghdad and U.N. weapons inspectors. But, despite the outcome of Monday’s vote, some signs of a friendlier climate – including the start of a debate on whether Iraq has satisfactorily disposed of its nuclear arsenal- emerged.

For the first time, the sanctions renewal – which in recent years has been passed almost automatically, with scant comment from the ambassadors of the 15 nations on the U.N. Security Council – was accompanied a meeting between the Council members and two senior Iraqi officials.

Although the Council promptly agreed to continue the embargo mere minutes afterward, the meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf and Oil Minister Amir Rashid offered Baghdad a rare opportunity to rebut complaints about its weapons programme.

In so doing, said a senior U.N. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Security Council allowed Iraq to “clarify a number of points” raised by the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM). That body, which must verify the scrapping of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, asserted in a report to the Council that Baghdad has not provided crucial information about its biological and chemical weapons capabilities in recent months.

The U.N. official noted, however, the Iraqi officials told the Council that “a number of the paragraphs (in the UNSCOM report) do not reflect reality or truth.”

Al-Sahaf told reporters after the meeting that the Council has not sufficiently recognised the progress that Iraq has made on weapons issues, and that it should lift the sanctions. But U.S. Ambassador Bill Richardson countered, “We merely disagree – we believe they are not in compliance, (so) sanctions will continue.”

For Iraq, the latest sanctions review was thus little different from previous ones, with virtually all non-humanitarian commerce still blocked from entering or leaving Iraq. Yet the growing debate about the fate of the sanctions offers some hope of the one thing Baghdad has pushed for: a light at the end of its tunnel.

Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov showed signs that some Council members are also searching for that light. In recent days, Russia has pressed for the 15-nation body to recognise the work that Iraq has done to clarify its nuclear weapons programme – efforts that have won some support from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Chinese Ambassador Shen Guofang suggested Monday that it may be time for the Council to phase out some aspects of the sanctions regime. Perhaps, he said, the United Nations could leave only an arms embargo on Iraq but gradually drop the other sanctions.

For the United States, neither the nuclear cooperation nor other recent breakthroughs – such as the inspection of Iraqi presidential complexes, after months of stalling, by special U.N. teams – justifies an easing now.

Iraq “is still not providing enough information on the chemical and biological front,” Richardson said. He said that Washington differs from Moscow’s efforts to declare the nuclear issue closed, saying that “more work needs to be done (in studying Iraq’s programmes for) nuclear enrichment, nuclear design, exports and concealment matters.”

However, the U.S. ambassador added, Washington does acknowledge some progress in recent days toward clearing up questions about Iraq’s military arsenal. If Baghdad continues to cooperate, he said, “perhaps (the nuclear) matter could be closed at a later date.”

That may not be good enough for Hussein’s government, which last week showed growing signs of impatience with the sanctions. Even after U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Hussein negotiated an agreement, signed on Feb. 23, which allowed for the inspection of the presidential sites – averting a standoff with the United States – Iraq has warned of “severe consequences” if sanctions are not lifted now.

“Iraq is once again using its bluster,” Richardson said in response to new threats of non-cooperation, but he added that, unlike the February standoff, the “crisis atmosphere” is no longer present now.

Council diplomats expect the debate over Iraq’s nuclear programme to continue through this week, with the body likely to agree upon some non-binding statement which would praise Baghdad’s progress on that issue while noting the remaining steps it needs to take. That may seem like a “small step forward” – as al-Sahaf commented on Sunday – but following the lack of any progress for Iraq in recent years, it is still a significant step.