Signaling progress, the United States and France moved closer to agreement in the UN Security Council, with Washington conceding the need to consult the world body before any attack against Iraq.
France, which has organized the main resistance to a tough US-British draft resolution, still wants the council to vote before any possible military strike against Iraq.
But diplomats said today that Paris was seriously considering new US compromise language and discussing it with others who share its views.
"They could sort this out in an hour flat, but that doesn't mean they will," said one diplomat on the council, expecting late sometime next week at the latest.
The leaders of the United Nations' inspection teams for Iraq are scheduled to see US President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney today, at the invitation of the White House, UN and US officials said yesterday.
The officials viewed the visit as a way for chief UN arms inspector Mr Hans Blix and Mr Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to bring the White House up to date following trips to the capitals of other key UN Security Council members.
The United States has drafted a resolution, co-sponsored by Britain, that broadens the rights of UN inspectors searching for any of Iraq's chemical, biological, nuclear or ballistic weapons programs after a nearly four-year hiatus.
It warns Baghdad of "serious consequences" and twice mentions Iraq being in "material breach," of UN resolutions dating back to a 1991 Gulf War cease-fire.
France, Russia, China and other nations consider "material breach" a hidden "trigger" that would allow Washington to attack Iraq, overthrow President Saddam Hussein and then contend the United Nations had authorized it.
While US officials have said publicly they would not initiate military action without some kind of consultation or debate among Security Council members, the new American proposals put this in writing. But Washington opposes any commitment to a council vote authorizing a military strike.The current US text says any failure of Iraq to comply with terms of the new resolution "shall constitute a further material breach."
The compromise language would say that such a breach would have to be "considered" by the Security Council after UN weapons inspectors report on Baghdad's cooperation, diplomats told reporters.
In contrast France, worried the Bush administration would act on its own, wants a two-phased process that would include a council "decision" before any warfare.
But US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell said today that "our basic principles remain the same," an apparent reference to the need for Washington to maintain its freedom of action.