UN says Iraq ready for talks

Iraq has refused to allow weapons inspectors to return

Iraq has said it is ready to hold talks with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan without preconditions, the UN says.

The offer of a "dialogue" came in a message from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to Mr Annan.

The Iraqis [are] prepared to resume dialogue with the secretary general

Kofi Annan's office

It was conveyed by the Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa.

Mr Annan said he would meet an Iraqi delegation to discuss the issue of UN Security Council resolutions, which may include the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq after a three-year absence.

Talks between the UN chief and Iraqi officials broke off a year ago after Baghdad laid down conditions for resuming discussions, including an end to sanctions imposed after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

Attack threat

The development comes amid mounting speculation that the United States is planning to widen its war against terrorism beyond Afghanistan to include Iraq.

Kofi Annan will meet Iraqi officials

In his State of the Union address last week, President George W Bush said Iraq was part of an "axis of evil" of countries believed to be developing weapons of mass destruction.

Iraq has refused to allow weapons inspectors back into the country ever since they were evacuated by the UN shortly before US and British military strikes in December, 1998.

The former head of the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (Unscom), Richard Butler, has voiced concern that even if inspectors are allowed back into Iraq they will be prevented from working effectively.

The UN said Mr Moussa returned from a visit to the Iraqi capital Baghdad last month "with a message from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, saying the Iraqis were prepared to resume dialogue with the Secretary General, without any preconditions".

Sanctions dispute

The Arab League chief conveyed the offer during a meeting in New York with Mr Annan on Monday.

Mr Annan's office said the secretary general would "check his calendar" to find a convenient date to meet Iraqi representatives.

Mr Annan last held talks with Iraqi officials in February last year for the first time in two years, but they did not resume after Saddam Hussein insisted on an end to sanctions as a condition for continuing discussions.

The UN Security Council says sanctions can only be lifted after it is satisfied Iraq is no longer seeking to produce chemical, nuclear or biological weapons.