UN to agree resolution on inspectors, predicts Blair

Prime Minister prepares to reassure Putin that Russian economy will not be endangered by military strikes on Saddam's armaments

Tony Blair confidently predicted that a tough United Nations resolution securing the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq could be agreed as he flew into Moscow last night for talks with President Vladimir Putin.

The Prime Minister was preparing to reassure the Russian government that its fragile economy would not be jeopardised by military strikes on Iraq's weapons arsenal.

Mr Blair said he envisaged a UN Security Council agreement that would deliver an "ultimatum'' to the Iraqis to allow arms inspectors unfettered access to suspected weapons factories.

With the permanent Security Council members Russia, France and China resisting British and American pressure for a single toughly worded resolution that would provide for the use of force, he insisted that a deal could nevertheless be struck. He said: "The United Nations route is the right route but the United Nations route has to be effective. I believe ultimately that we can get everybody on that page. I think that's the way of bringing the international community together, but making it clear we're not using the UN to let the issue sink into the morass and disappear.''

Speaking to journalists before the talks with President Putin in his country retreat outside Moscow, Mr Blair said: "There must be a clear ultimatum laid down to Saddam that he provides unconditional, unrestricted access, so that disarmament can happen through a weapons inspection monitoring regime.''

British diplomats admitted that there were a range of tricky issues to be resolved with the Russians, who have repeatedly signalled their reluctance to endorse US-led military action against Baghdad. There was no sign last night that they were being won round to a single UN resolution authorising military strikes against Iraq if it fails to co-operate with the weapons inspectors. France, Russia and China oppose a green light to attack before Iraq has a chance to co-operate.

Russia has this week suggested for the first time that it could countenance a fresh Security Council resolution on Iraq to ensure the inspectors' return. However, it has made plain that it would not support an automatic trigger for military action which could be decided by the US alone, and that Russia's economic situation would have to be recognised in a resolution.

A Russian deputy foreign minister, Yuri Fedotov, said yesterday that Russia was still insisting that "the resolution should not contain provisions on the use of force" and wants inspections to open up the possibility of an end to UN sanctions against Iraq.

Mr Blair denied he had flown out to put a "price tag'' on winning Russian support for military action, following hints from Moscow that it wanted financial guarantees that money tied up in Iraqi oilfields would not be lost. Russia is also worried that it could lose billions of dollars in export revenues were the oil market to be transformed by President Saddam Hussein's removal from power.

But the Prime Minister acknowledged that Russia had "legitimate interests they want to know we are sensitive to'' and confirmed they would form part of the talks with President Putin.

Mr Blair also swept aside the publication of a letter from the Central Intelligence Agency suggesting that a US invasion of Iraq could prompt President Saddam to use his chemical or biological weapons in retaliation. He said the CIA statement merely confirmed the fact that Iraq possessed such deadly weapons.

He glossed over allegations that the Russians were guilty of human rights abuses in Chechnya. He said: "Russian citizens have been subject to terrorist attacks operating out of Chechnya ... Russia is entitled to protect its own territorial integrity, but in a way that is consistent with human rights.''