US and Britain alone on Iraq
The US was sceptical about Baghdad's willingness to allow a real search for weapons of mass destruction and Secretary of State Colin Powell said Washington would seek a new UN Security Council resolution spelling out the steps Iraq needs to take to meet 11-year old UN demands.
"We will press for a resolution," Powell said. "If they (the Iraqis) are serious, they will want one."
But Russia a powerful veto-holding member of the Security Council said a new resolution is unnecessary now that inspectors were welcomed back. "I don't think so," Russian Ambassador Sergei Lavrov said when asked if there was a need for a new resolution.
His comments were echoed by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, who came out against the Bush administration's desire for another UN resolution on Iraq.
"Concentration now should be on the agreement to implement what Iraq has accepted the return of the inspectors and the importance of taking measures to carry it out."
It was not clear when the Security Council would discuss Iraq's offer, a necessary first step before sending inspectors back.
Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector, has said he could have inspectors on the ground within days but it would take his teams several weeks before they could begin monitoring Iraqi sites.
The Vienna-based organisation that runs inspections for nuclear weapons in Iraq said that it could resume its work at once. "We could start work tomorrow. We have a plan in place, but we need a green light from the Security Council," said Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The Security Council can give its approval without a new resolution. But it was not clear whether council approval was even necessary, because of earlier resolutions on inspections.
In Baghdad, Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said weapons inspectors should finish their work "within a reasonable time" to bring the lifting of sanctions. Aziz said the US may still be looking for a reason to attack Iraq.
"If the inspectors come and act honestly, professionally ... they can reach the truth within a reasonable time. But if the Americans are using this as a pretext, they might use some other way in order to commit an aggression against Iraq," Aziz said.
Earlier, Aziz said Washington's sole goal was to dominate oil in the Persian Gulf region.
Aziz called on UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to monitor inspectors closely to ensure they do not overstep their mission. He said Iraq hoped the return of inspectors "will lead as soon as possible to the lifting of sanctions and normalising the situation".
Washington quickly dismissed Iraq's offer as a tactic meant to split the Security Council, where the Bush administration has been lobbying hard for a resolution that would authorise force against Iraq if it failed to let the inspectors return. For the US, Iraqi disarmament is contingent on removing Saddam, who invaded neighbouring Kuwait in 1990 and lobbed Scud missiles at Saudi Arabia and Israel during the Gulf War.
"This is not a matter of inspections. It is about disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and the Iraqi regime's compliance with all other Security Council resolutions," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
France, which is one of the five permanent Security Council members, said the world body should act quickly to test Iraq's motives. "This will, of course, be discussed in the coming days at the Security Council, but we must not lose time, act quickly, send in the inspectors," said Francois Rivasseau, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman.
Britain, however, questioned Saddam's motives. "This apparent offer is bound to be treated with a high degree of scepticism by the international community," Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said.
Kofi Annan credited US President Bush for helping to bring about Iraq's decision. "I believe the president's speech galvanised the international community," he said.
Arab league chief Amr Moussa turned out to be pivotal in the negotiations with Iraq, using the backing of Arab states to push through the deal.
