Chief UN weapons inspector Mr Hans Blix and Iraqi arms experts made progress on their first day of talks on the return of UN inspectors, a senior UN delegate said. But more work lay ahead as Iraq tries to avert a threatened Anglo-American military strike, he added.
"I think we are making progress, but we still have a lot of work to do," said Mr Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is hosting the talks on logistics and other details to pave the way for the resumption of inspections after a four-year hiatus.
The meetings adjourned until tomorrow after a full day of talks in which the teams completed a first reading of a list of practical issues outlined by the UN side, Mr Blix said.
Asked about the level of Iraqi co-operation, he said: "We had said talks, and they are co-operating in talking with us."
Mr Blix said the Iraqi team was "knowledgeable", adding that he still aimed to have inspectors back in Iraq "by around the middle of October".
General Amir al-Saadi, a technical adviser to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, agreed the talks were business-like, but declined to give further details.
Referring to a tough new US-British draft resolution that threatens military action unless Iraq disarms and that rewrites the ground rules for inspections, IAEA spokesman Mr Mark Gwozdecky said inspectors would abide by any resolution that was passed. Russia criticised the United States and Britain today for launching air attacks against Iraq by saying they hindered a settlement of the Iraqi crisis.
The Russian foreign ministry in a statement suggested the new US and British air raids in "no-fly zones" had been timed to coincide with talks in Vienna over procedures for allowing UN weapons inspectors back into Iraq.
Before today's session started, reporters asked Mr Blix if there would be any limitations on sites open to inspectors. "No, not that I'm aware of," he said.
On the touchy issue of access to Saddam's palaces, Mr Blix said he did not expect them to be off limits. "There is an agreement about that subject at the present time. It is in force at the present time," Mr Blix told reporters.
The Vienna talks come against a backdrop of increasingly strong words from US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair, who accuse Iraq of amassing weapons of mass destruction.
Yesterday, Mr Blair - Bush's closest ally in the stand-off with Baghdad - said he would not rule out an attack against Iraq even if the United Nations refused to back it.
Mr Blair's comments came as Washington and London stepped up diplomatic efforts to push through the US-drafted resolution, to which China, Russia and France - which have the power of veto on the Security Council - have reacted coldly. With the threat of war hanging in the air, Mr Gwozdecky said all parties were "aware of the importance of minimising any possibility of disagreements".
Mr Blix said he would report to the UN Security Council on Thursday and could not discuss the closed-door meetings in detail before then.