The US hit determined opposition from Russia and France over its warlike stance on Iraq yesterday, threatening its bid for tough new UN-imposed arms inspection rules as experts met in Vienna to discuss them.
Russia and France, both with veto powers in the UN Security Council which is to consider a US-drafted resolution on Iraq, separately rebuked Washington.
Russia rapped Washington for sending its warplanes to strike a southern Iraq target on Sunday, while France slammed the threat of military force contained in the US draft proposal at the UN.
China also remained sceptical of the US proposal. An envoy from Britain handed the draft to officials in Beijing and China -- which has already expressed its misgivings -- was reflecting on it, a British embassy official said.
Amid the diplomatic war of words, chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix began talks with Iraqi officials in Vienna yesterday, saying he expected unlimited access to sites on any return by his team to Iraq after a nearly four-year gap.
Speaking to reporters before the talks to work out details of the UN's return to search for any chemical, biological or nuclear weapons in Iraq, Blix was asked if there would be any limitations on the sites open to inspectors.
"No, not that I'm aware of," he said.
UN inspection teams left Iraq in December 1998 on the eve of a US-British bombing raid intended to punish Baghdad for allegedly not cooperating with the inspectors.
Yesterday's talks were the first test of Iraq's cooperation since Baghdad agreed on Sept. 16 to the unconditional return of the inspectors under threat of a US military strike.
"We would like to ensure that if and when inspections come about, we will not have any clashes inside [Iraq]. We would rather have these things outside, in advance," Blix said.
Mark Gwozdecky, a spokesman for the UN's Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is hosting the talks said the discussions yesterday were moving along nicely. Gwozdecky also said inspectors would abide by any UN resolution that was passed.
"If the Security Council decides to issue a new directive or resolution, of course we will follow that," he said. "In the meantime, we have these practical arrangements that we need to see eye-to-eye on with the Iraqis."
Gwozdecky said that even if the Security Council passed the new US draft resolution, UN inspectors and Baghdad would still need to agree on the practical arrangements for their return -- accomodation, security, communications and other issues.
The administration of US President George W. Bush has proposed that Iraq be given one week to accept demands to disarm and 30 days to declare all its weapons of mass destruction programs.
The Security Council draft threatens military action if Iraq fails to comply and France reaffirmed its opposition yesterday, warning such an approach could threaten international stability.
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