Iraq says it's still willing to work with UN weapons teams

Iraq has said it is still willing to co-operate with United Nations inspectors charged with overseeing the dismantling of its weapons of mass destruction.

Ina statement it urged the UN Security Council to deal in an objective and balanced way with the outcome of the latest talks.

As he left Baghdad, the chief UN weapons inspector, Richard Butler, said he had made no progress on the two key issues.

He said Iraq was insisting that his inspectors would never be allowed to search presidential compounds.

Mr Butler also said he'd been given no new information on biological weapons.

However, he did report progress in other areas -- including access to some less sensitive sites.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service