Iraq's UN envoy moves to Washington as ambassador

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 13 (Reuters) Iraq's UN ambassador, Samir Sumaidaie, said he was moving to to Washington shortly as Baghdad's first ambassador to the United States in 15 years.

Sumaidaie presented his credentials to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday and said in an e-mail he expected to meet President George W Bush ''in the coming days.'' Sumaidaie became Iraq's first post-war ambassador to the United Nations in July 2004. He had been an interior minister in the post-Saddam Hussein government after returning to Baghdad from exile in London where he was involved in opposition groups.

In June 2005, Sumaidaie accused US Marines of shooting to death his 21-year-old unarmed cousin, an engineering student, during a raid in his home in western Iraq.

The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Iraq after Baghdad's troops invaded Kuwait in mid-1990 and restored them in June 2004.

REUTERS DH BD0546