Iraq said yesterday it would obey UN orders to destroy its ballistic missiles and could start doing so today, but the US and allies accused Baghdad of playing games over disarmament.
The US intensified its military build-up in the Gulf region, and President George W. Bush said Iraq would never give up its weapons voluntarily and would have to be disarmed by force.
In Baghdad, Iraqi sources said the government had told chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix it would obey his order to destroy its al-Samoud 2 ballistic missiles and could start dismantling them today -- the deadline he had set.
UN inspectors in Baghdad said they would hold technical talks with Iraq today, after which the destruction of the missiles could begin.
The UN says the missiles are illegal because their 150km range exceeds limits set in 1991 UN resolutions.
Blix, however, in a crucial report to the UN Security Council, criticized Iraq for giving a "very limited" response to its disarmament obligations.
In a leaked draft of his report, Blix said the results of three months of inspections had been problematic. "Iraq could have made greater efforts to find any remaining proscribed items or provide credible evidence showing the absence of such items," he wrote. "The results in terms of disarmament have been very limited so far."
Security Council members argued bitterly on whether to approve a war on Iraq, with veto-wielding permanent members deeply divided and smaller nations - -- under mounting pressure from both sides - -- urging them to seek unity.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, visiting Beijing, said Moscow would not support any resolution that opened the way for the use of force in Iraq and would use its veto "if necessary, in the interest of international stability."
Egypt, due to host an Arab League summit on Iraq today, welcomed the Iraqi decision to destroy its missiles but urged Baghdad to do more to avoid a US-led war.
But Bush told the newspaper USA Today: "My attitude about [Iraqi President] Saddam Hussein is that, if he had any intention of disarming, he would have disarmed."
"We will disarm him now," he declared.
"We're still a battlefield," said Bush, speaking of his view that Saddam is a threat to the US and the world. "Part of that war is dealing with a dictator who can serve as an arsenal and/or training ground for terrorist networks."
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