Iraqi president Jalal Talabani says, he will not sign the execution order for Tariq Aziz, the Former Deputy of Saddam Hussein as he is a socialist. Tariq Aziz was sentenced to death last month over the persecution of Islamic parties. In an interview Talabani told French television, France 24 that he sympathises with Tariq Aziz because he is an Iraqi Christian and moreover he is an old man over 70. The Vatican and Russia have both called on Iraq not to carry out the death sentence on humanitarian grounds, noting his age and the fact he has health problems. Aziz was well known in foreign capitals and at the United Nations before Saddam's downfall.