An Iraqi delegation has travelled to Geneva for talks with the International Olympic Committee aimed at reinstating athletes banned from the Beijing games.

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An IOC spokesman said there still was a slight hope for them to be reinstated if the government stopped interfering.

However, the Iraqi minister of sport has said the decision is irreversible.

The government had appointed a new committee in May because the previous one was corrupt and had not been functioning properly, he said.

Under the IOC charter, all committees must be free of political influence.

'Letters exchanged'

A spokesman for the Iraqi national Olympic committee said "high-level" talks had begun on Friday with IOC officials and international mediators at the organisation's headquarters in Geneva.

"We still have the hope the Iraqi flag will fly at the opening ceremony in Beijing," Jazair al-Sahlani told the Associated Press.

Iraqi officials have reportedly been encouraging the athletes who are hoping to take part in the games to keep up their training.

"There is a slight hope that remains," an IOC spokeswoman in Geneva told the AFP news agency.

"The dateline for athletes is open until the end of July. Provided that the Iraqi government stops interfering, the suspension on the Iraqi Olympic committee could be lifted."

But the Iraqi minister for sport, who now heads the national Olympic committee, said on Thursday that the two sides had exchanged over a dozen letters, and that the government's decision to take over the committee was irreversible.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says it is therefore not clear what exactly the Iraqi delegation will be saying that is new and could change the situation.

But officials have said that fresh, independent elections will be held for the Olympic committee under IOC supervision soon after the Beijing games are over.

Two rowers, a weightlifter, a sprinter, a discus thrower, a judoka and an archer were in the frame for the games, which start on 8 August.

(BBC)

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