Iraq inspection results 'limited'

Iraq inspection results 'limited'

Inspectors have said they need more time

The UN's chief weapons inspector Hans Blix says the inspections aimed at disarming Iraq have produced "very limited" results.

The statement came in a report due to be submitted to the Security Council on Saturday, a draft copy of which was obtained by the BBC.

Mr Blix's draft says Iraq could have made greater efforts to find proscribed weapons and to provide credible evidence that some of them have been destroyed.

Later, a UN spokeswoman said Iraq had sent Mr Blix a letter agreeing in principle to destroy its al-Samoud II missiles.

Mr Blix has given Baghdad until Saturday to start destroying the missiles, which weapons inspectors say are capable of travelling beyond the limits set by the UN after the 1991 Gulf War.

The results in terms of disarmament have been very limited so far

Hans Blix

The UN spokeswoman said Iraq complained about the demand in its letter, but nevertheless agreed to destroy the missiles.

Baghdad has denied the missiles are prohibited weapons.

Earlier on Thursday, the latest Security Council debate on Iraq ended without any consensus.

The French ambassador at the UN, Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, said the majority of countries "do not think it is time to go to war and it is possible to disarm Iraq by peaceful means".

Military build-up

Meanwhile, Iraq has started moving major elements of a Republican Guard division south, possibly towards Baghdad or Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit, according to US defence officials.

The US has been expecting the Iraqi leader to begin concentrating his better forces around the centres of power, the BBC's Pentagon correspondent Nick Childs says.

But US defence officials say that how many of the Republican Guard forces in the north get moved could depend on whether the US gets the final go-ahead to start a major troop build-up in neighbouring Turkey.

US-TURKISH PLANS

62,000 troops

255 warplanes

65 helicopters

Germany halts military aid to Turkey

After a series of delays, the Turkish parliament was expected to vote on the matter on Thursday, but the vote has been postponed until Saturday at the earliest.

The Turkish Government announced on Thursday that it had finalised the military details of a deal allowing US troops to use its bases for an attack on Iraq.

But negotiations on the exact amount of financial compensation Turkey would receive are continuing.

Council divided

The US and UK are hoping the Security Council will pass a second resolution in the coming weeks, saying Iraq has failed to disarm.

The 15 Council members discussed the draft resolution behind closed doors on Thursday, as well as a counter-proposal presented by France, Germany and Russia calling for inspections to be stepped up.

But the Security Council remains divided over Iraq, and six non-permanent members have yet to state publicly which proposal they support.

An unnamed ambassador quoted by the Associated Press described the discussions as "bitter and unpleasant".

Any resolution needs the backing of nine members and no veto from one of the five permanent members.

The BBC's Greg Barrow at the UN says that neither the pro- nor the anti-war camp on the Council is likely to gain much from Mr Blix's report.

In other developments:

• Chile - which is working closely with another non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Mexico - says it wants a solution which includes short and specific timetables to complete the inspections

• French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin says France does "not exclude the use of force" to disarm Iraq, but that he believes in a diplomatic solution

  A sixth aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, is ordered to deploy to the Gulf and will leave the US west coast next week, the US Navy says

• Several B-2 stealth bombers are to leave for the Gulf in the coming days, US air force officials say.