¡¡¡¡WASHINGTON, May 7 (Xinhuanet) -- US President George W. Bush on Wednesday urged UN Security Council members to lift sanctions against Iraq, saying "the regime that the sanctions were directed against no longer rules Iraq."

¡¡¡¡Speaking to reporters at a joint news conference with visiting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, Bush said the United States, Britain and Spain would soon submit a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for lifting sanctions against Iraq.

¡¡¡¡"We discussed the resolution today. We believe there is a mood to work together to achieve a resolution that will expedite the reconstruction of Iraq," Bush told reporters.

¡¡¡¡"No country in good conscience can support using sanctions to hold back the hopes of the Iraqi people," Bush said. "The atmosphere that existed prior to the war has changed. People now want to work together for the good of the Iraqi people."

¡¡¡¡The Spanish prime minister said he agreed to what Bush said and believed "everyone needs to contribute to it within the Security Council."

¡¡¡¡Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States will introduce a draft resolution at the UN Security Council this week.

¡¡¡¡Powell told reporters after meeting UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the United Nations that the Security Council must now talk about matters of peace and helping the Iraqi people.

¡¡¡¡Earlier, US Treasury Secretary John Snow announced that Washington had lifted some of its own sanctions on Iraq to help meet the humanitarian and reconstruction needs of the country.

¡¡¡¡"The easing of US sanctions will bring much needed aid and humanitarian relief to the Iraqi people as they begin the process of rebuilding their lives after more than two decades of brutal dictatorship," Snow said.

¡¡¡¡"The regime that was once the target of our economic sanctions has been extinguished, and our mission now is to rebuild Iraq," he said. Enditem