Iraq says it is ready for U.N. inspections

UNITED NATIONS -- Iraq confirmed in a letter Friday that it is ready for U.N. weapons inspections, but it ignored the details of agreements reached with the United Nations to facilitate the return of inspectors.

The two-page Iraqi letter to the chief weapons inspectors, obtained by The Associated Press, also included a reference to future consultations. The United States seized on that reference to accuse Baghdad of wanting "to delay and deceive."

But Iraqi Ambassador Mohammed Al-Douri rejected the accusation and said his country was dealing in good faith.

Iraq was responding to an Oct. 8 letter from inspectors detailing agreements reached in Vienna, Austria, earlier this month on the resumption of inspections. The U.N. letter asked Iraq to confirm its acceptance of the agreements -- as Security Council members requested -- but the Iraqi letter didn't mention them.

Instead, Iraq confirmed its acceptance of a joint press statement issued at the end of the Vienna talks on Oct. 1 and a briefing on those talks to the Security Council by chief inspector Hans Blix on Oct. 3. The letter said Iraq it was in "full readiness" to receive an advance team on Oct. 19.

The letter, signed by Gen. Amir Al-Saadi, an adviser to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein who headed the Iraqi delegation at the Vienna talks, clearly fell short of the unambiguous acceptance that Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, had hoped for.

"We are not surprised that once again the Iraqis want to delay and deceive," said Richard Grenell, spokesman for U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte. "We've had 16 resolutions and 11 years of playing this game, and it's time the Security Council take action."

Al-Douri said Iraq had "no problems" with the letter from Blix and ElBaradei.

"Our letter is a positive letter, is a positive answer to what Mr. Blix asked us in his letter," Al-Douri told reporters.