UN inspectors say progress is made in talks with Iraq

Hans Blix, the chief United Nations weapons inspector, began laying the ground yesterday with Iraqi officials for the return of his arms investigators to Baghdad even as Britain and the US struggled to persuade Russia and France to support a tough new resolution on Iraq at the UN Security Council.

As France raised the diplomatic stakes in the crisis, warning that independent American military action could lead to a calamitous free-for-all in international affairs, talks between an Iraqi delegation and the inspectors opened in Vienna and were to continue today.

"I think we are making progress, but we still have a lot of work to do," said Mohamed El Baradei, head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as the talks adjourned for the first day.

Their outcome should give a first concrete indication of Iraq's seriousness following its recent agreement to allow inspections to resume. Mr Blix said he was working on the assumption that Iraq would allow complete and unfettered access for his inspection teams to all the sites of interest in Iraq.

Existing resolutions do accept restrictions on access to eight so-called presidential compounds. Under a 1998 text, Mr Blix could enter these compounds but on condition his inspectors are accompanied by diplomats.

"The purpose of the talks is that, if and when inspections come about, we will not have clashes inside over what the inspectors will do," Mr Blix said. "We'd rather go through these things outside in advance."

An IAEA spokesman, Mark Gwozdecky, said the first hours had been "businesslike" and discussions had been "very thorough". The IAEA is responsible for unveiling any Iraqi nuclear weapons programme, while the body headed by Mr Blix – the UN monitoring and verification commission, Unmovic – is charged with ending any effort by Iraq to develop chemical and biological weapons as well as long-range ballistic missiles.

There are tentative plans to move the first weapons inspectors back into Iraq on 15 October. That timetable looks ambitious, with little sign of early agreement in the Security Council on a harsh Anglo-American draft resolution that would threaten military action on Iraq unless it co-operates fully with inspections at once.

The French Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, said the world faced a "defining moment". The "fundamental" principles which underpinned the United Nations, "stability, fairness and responsibility", would be trampled if Washington decided to go it alone.

But President Jacques Chirac and Mr de Villepin warned that France would be prepared to support, and even mount, aid action against Iraq if President Saddam Hussein refused to comply with a new UN resolution on disarmament.

Mr Chirac said: "If international prevention efforts fail, if threats jeopardise our security or that of Europe or of nations to which we have special ties, we should be ready to assume our responsibilities."

Both warnings, to Washington and to Baghdad, were intended to bolster France's position as a key-player. Any chance of swift progress in the Security Council is likely to depend on London and Washington toning down the language of their draft. On Sunday, Tony Blair signalled there could be flexibility towards a French proposal for a two-step approach.

In Baghdad, senior officials said the draft US resolution, which threatens military action, remains unacceptable, although Iraq was prepared to consider a "compromise" on rules of inspection.

"We know the Americans are seeking an excuse to launch a war of aggression, so we are hoping our allies will be able to achieve the necessary compromise, acceptable to all, which will preserve peace," a senior source said. "But it is difficult to conduct business with a gun constantly pointed at you."