Russia and France have welcomed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's invitation for the chief UN arms inspector to visit Baghdad for talks. But the UK and the US have reacted with scepticism.
Yesterday the US said Iraq must allow completely "unfettered" inspections of its weapons of mass destruction programmes. US National Security Council spokesman Mr Sean McCormack also said the US would maintain its policy of seeking to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and said this was a separate issue from the weapons inspections.
Mr Richard Grenell, the spokesman at the US mission to the United Nations, told the Washington Post he doubted Iraq's sincerity. "The United States is always sceptical about Iraqi claims to comply with Security Council resolutions," he said. "But we would welcome any movement."
A spokesman for the British Foreign Office said: "Saddam has a long history of playing games. As his track record shows, he does not deliver."
In a letter delivered on Thursday to UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, Baghdad invited chief UN weapons inspector Mr Hans Blix to visit the country for talks that could lead to the resumption of inspections, which were halted in December 1998.
The United Nations said on Friday that Iraq's conditions for talks in Baghdad with the UN chief arms inspector were "at variance" with UN Security Council resolutions and that council members would discuss the issue next week. Spokesman Mr Fred Eckhard said Mr Annan welcomed the letter but "the procedure proposed is at variance with the one laid down by the Security Council in its resolution of 1999".
The invitation from Baghdad came amid growing speculation that US President Bush was considering military action to overthrow Mr Saddam, accused by Washington of developing weapons of mass destruction and providing a safe haven for terrorists.
In Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry hailed the announcement as an "important step in the right direction towards resolving the crisis through political and diplomatic means", based on UN Security Council resolutions.
Russia opposes a US military strike on Baghdad, branded by Mr Bush as part of an "axis of evil", and wants the country to allow weapons inspectors to return in exchange for a lifting of crippling UN economic sanctions.
On Thursday, Moscow and Beijing called for the UN Security Council to take the lead in settling the dispute over weapons production.
France cautiously welcomed Iraq's invitation. French foreign ministry spokeswoman Ms Marie Masdupuy said: "We support all efforts that might lead to Iraq respecting its obligations towards the United Nation Security Council. We hope the dialogue between the United Nations and the Iraqi authorities will continue within the framework of the council's resolutions on both the technical and political levels so that Baghdad allows a return of the inspectors."
In London, however, officials were not convinced that Mr Saddam's efforts were sincere. "The requirement of Iraq is clear and unchanged: unfettered access for UN weapons inspectors - any time, any place, anywhere." Britain is Washington's closest military ally, and it is believed widely that Mr Bush would ask for London's help for any military strike.
Last month, British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair said Mr Saddam's efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction posed a "gathering threat".
The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), which Mr Blix heads and which has never set foot in Iraq, was set up by the UN Security Council on December 17th, 1999. It replaced UNSCOM, the old verification group which, already under a cloud of spying allegations, was withdrawn from Iraq in December 1998 on the eve of a US and British bombing campaign.
- (AFP, Reuters)