Saddam's deputy to discuss UN inspectors

Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz, will discuss the return of weapons inspectors at a meeting today with Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary general, as part of an effort to avert an American military strike.

The meeting will be held on the fringes of the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, but it is unclear whether the approach reflects a serious change in Iraq's position. Mr Aziz said: "We would consider this issue [of the inspectors] within the context that I mentioned, with the comprehensive settlement." Hours before, however, he told CNN that a resumption of inspections was not an option for his country.

Russia, meanwhile, reiterated its opposition to military action. During a visit to Moscow by Naj Sabri, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, his Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov, warned Washington: "Any decision to use force against Iraq would not only complicate an Iraqi settlement but also undermine the situation in the Gulf and the Middle East."

Tony Blair will declare today that "doing nothing" about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction is not an option.

At a press conference in his Sedgefield constituency, the Prime Minister is expected to talk about previous action by the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, including his use of chemical weapons against Iranian and Kurdish targets in the 1980s. But he will insist that no decision on military action has been taken. Mr Blair will try to placate his critics by saying that the US should try to build the widest possible international coalition before military action is taken.

It is clear that the US is becoming increasingly isolated in its determination to change the Iraqi regime. Yesterday, President George Bush's spokesman, Ari Fleischer, said of Iraq's latest offer: "Iraq changes positions on whether it will let the inspectors in more often than Saddam Hussein changes bunkers."

Mr Fleischer dismissed suggestions that the Bush administration was split on Iraq. Colin Powell, the Secretary of State, has called for the return of weapons inspectors, contradicting the Vice-President, Dick Cheney. But Mr Fleischer said: "The President's position is, of course, Saddam Hussein needs to live up to the commitments he made at the end of the Gulf War. Those commitments included making certain that Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction and that means having weapons inspectors there.

"Now will weapons inspectors alone guarantee that he doesn't have weapons of mass destruction? That's why the secretary said it's a first step."

The former South African president Nelson Mandela became the latest high-profile statesman to speak out against a US military strike. He said:"We are really appalled by any country, whether a superpower or a small country, that goes outside the UN and attacks independent countries. No country should be allowed to take the law into their own hands. What they are saying is introducing chaos in international affairs and we condemn that in the strongest terms."

He said he had raised his concerns with Mr Powell and with Mr Bush's father.