Pope John Paul's personal peace envoy arrived in Baghdad yesterday, saying he was carrying a message to President Saddam Hussein that was "crucial for peace in Iraq".
Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, a Frenchman who has carried out numerous delicate Papal missions before, is due to meet senior Iraqi officials including Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz today, diplomats said.
A meeting with Saddam would be fixed in the coming days, they added. Cardinal Etchegaray will try to persuade the Iraqi leader to co-operate with the international community.
"I arrived in Iraq as a personal envoy of Pope John Paul II carrying a personal message to President Saddam Hussein.
"This by itself is crucial for peace in Iraq," the cardinal told reporters at Saddam Airport.
"I came to encourage the Iraqi authorities to co-operate with the UN on the basis of peace and international law.
"War is not the last solution, it is the worst solution," the cardinal said.
The envoy, who flew in from Jordan for an open-ended mission, had said before leaving the Vatican that the Pope wanted to support all peace efforts.
Pope John Paul has become increasingly involved in diplomatic efforts aimed at averting a US-led attack on Iraq.
The Pontiff is to meet Mr Aziz on Friday at the Vatican and the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, next week.
Iraq's ambassador to the Vatican, Mr A. Amir Alanbari, has said Mr Aziz was likely to tell the Pope that Iraq would welcome a visit.
In Sunday's statement announcing Cardinal Etchegaray's mission, the Vatican said the cardinal would ask Iraq to "reflect seriously on the need for an effective international co-operation".
The Vatican has made clear it would not consider an attack on Iraq as a "just war".