Iraq and Russia appealed to the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, yesterday for help to defuse the crisis over arms inspections, as the US Defence Secretary, Mr William Cohen, headed to the Gulf to canvass support for a possible US military strike.
Mr Annan begins a 10-day Middle East tour on Wednesday, and he said last week he would go to Baghdad if invited to mediate.
Arab diplomats in Baghdad said Russia was trying to enlist Mr Annan's support for its efforts to broker a peaceful end, while the Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Yevgeny Primakov, made a direct appeal to Mr Annan.
President Yeltsin is "very anxious for Kofi Annan to go to Iraq, but the decision is his to make," Mr Primakov said.
Iraq's official Ath-Thawra newspaper appealed to the UN secretary general for help and chastised him for failing to condemn US military threats.
"The first duty of the secretary general of the United Nations is to appeal for peace and to work to resolve international problems," the paper said.
"We have not heard Mr Annan denounce the use of force . . . On the contrary, we have noted with regret his mention of Article 7 of the UN charter [which authorises the use of force], as if the aggressive US intentions had international legitimacy."
In Cairo, the secretary general of the Arab League, Mr Esmat Abdel Meguid, discussed the crisis with Mr Annan by telephone. Mr Meguid said earlier that a draft resolution would be submitted to the Security Council shortly seeking to avoid the "catastrophe" of US use of military force.
"A draft resolution is under editing and we are now studying a formula covering visits and inspections at some delicate sites," Mr Abdel Meguid said after meeting President Mubarak of Egypt.
Mr Annan told the Arab daily, Al-Hayat, last week he was ready to intervene "in person if it is useful, and if the Iraqis do not have an objection".
Russia and France have been heading efforts to end the deepening crisis peacefully. In contrast, US and British officials have been canvassing support for a tougher stance.
Mr Cohen, speaking in Germany before heading to Saudi Arabia, warned the West not to yield to Mr Saddam's "tactics of deceit and deception".
"If Saddam Hussein has nothing to hide, he has nothing to fear," said Mr Cohen, who warmly welcomed the support of the German Chancellor, Dr Kohl, and his offer to allow US jets to launch attacks from bases in Germany.
Mr Cohen is due to present Saudi leaders with a strategic plan for a possible attack on Iraq.
Washington's UN ambassador, Mr Bill Richardson, who returned from a tour of eight out of 10 nonpermanent UN Security Council members, said: "There's a big, silent majority out there of nations around the world that believe in our policy of being tough and aggressive and of not backing down."
The British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, also warned Mr Saddam that he had only weeks or days left to comply with UNSCOM. "The deadline is getting closer and closer, and he will be making a big mistake if he thinks we are going to back down," he said.
AFP adds from Jerusalem: Mr Cohen and the Israeli Defence Minister, Mr Yitzhak Mordechai, met discreetly in Munich amid reports that Washington is growing concerned that Israel could over-react if attacked by Iraq.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, insisted during a cabinet discussion of the Iraq crisis yesterday that Israel reserved the right to retaliate if hit by Iraqi missiles, although he judged the likelihood of such an attack "very low", his office said.