The UN's chief weapons inspector said today there is little new in an Iraqi letter inviting him to Baghdad for talks about resuming weapons inspections.
Inspectors would travel to Baghdad only if given assurance that they'll be allowed to conduct their work, Mr Hans Blix said.
Iraq wants Mr Blix, as well as its own experts, to determine outstanding issues regarding Iraq's banned weapons programmes and figure out how to resolve them before inspectors return.
"It's a rather tricky diplomatic language," Mr Blix said. "But everything indicates, when you read it very carefully, that it is the same sort of setup as we've had during three rounds of discussions in New York in the spring."
Mr Blix, who is on holiday in his native Sweden, said 230 inspectors have been trained and could be ready to deploy to Iraq with a few months notice.
"We want discussions with the Iraqis about practical arrangements: How we fly in, what authorities we deal with there," Mr Blix said. "We don't want conflict once we're in."
Mr Blix said issues Saddam Hussein wants looked at, including the removal of UN sanctions and no-fly zones imposed over the country, could only be discussed after inspectors are allowed to resume their search for weapons of mass destruction.
He also said Iraq would have to cooperate with inspection teams for about six months before sanctions against the country could be lifted.
AP