Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev, speaking in an interview broadcast Sunday, hinted that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein might one day be accepted as a fully fledged member of the international community.


Kozyrev, who spearheaded the successful Russian diplomatic drive to persuade Iran to recognize Kuwait, now wants United Nations sanctions against Baghdad to be gradually eased.


Asked by Russian independent television station NTV whether Washington -- which regards Saddam as a pariah -- might try to block the lifting of sanctions, Kozyrev replied:


"I am counting on the United States to be able to contain its emotions and recognize one thing -- in international affairs, people do not act in the same way forever."


He said the classic example was Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, who in 1989 did not take part in a session of the United Nations general assembly after Washington made it clear he was not wanted.


"Look. Five years later, the same Arafat, wearing the same headcloth, is greeted in a very friendly manner by President Clinton, among others. And he wins the Nobel" peace prize, said Kozyrev.


Another example, Kozyrev said, was that "many people in this country until recently were communists. And now they have become democrats."