Cautious welcome to Iraq move

Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix has welcomed the Iraqi decision

UNITED NATIONS -- World leaders have reacted cautiously to the decision by Iraq to re-admit weapons inspectors with hope tempered by varying degrees of mistrust over Baghdad's motives.

Britain, one of U.S. President George W. Bush's most vocal supporters on Iraq, echoed Washington's dismissal of Iraq's pledge with Prime Minister Tony Blair's office saying that President Saddam Hussein "had a long history of playing games."

"His regime has flouted a whole raft of (United Nations) resolutions. Let's see what they are offering," the spokeswoman said.

But Hans Blix, the chief U.N. weapons inspector, welcomed the news and said he was ready for immediate talks in New York on the practical arrangements for the resumption of inspections, Reuters reports.

Under the 1991 Gulf War cease-fire terms, the inspectors must verify the dismantling of any Iraqi programs for biological, chemical and nuclear weapons, and long-range missiles before sanctions can be suspended.

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said the U.N. Security Council would now consider whether a new resolution would still be needed in the light of Iraq's change of heart.

CNN NewsPass Video    •  Bush makes Iraq case to Congress    •  Iraqi minister scolds U.S. at U.N.   MORE STORIES   •  General: U.S. ready to attack Iraq   •  Iraq: No new U.N. resolutions   •  Bush outlines first-strike doctrine  EXTRA INFORMATION   •  Profile: Hans Blix   •  Gallery: Reactions to Bush's speech on Iraq   •  Timeline: White House states case for Saddam violations   •  Interactive: Chemical weapons   •  Timeline: U.N. weapons inspections in Iraq   •  Map: Area controlled by Kurds   •  Interactive Map: World stances on Iraq  RESOURCES   •  On the Scene: Rula Amin: Iraqi people relieved   •  Text of Iraq letter to U.N.   •  U.N. resolutions on Iraq   •  U.N. Security Council   •  Transcript: Bush address to U.N. General Assembly   •  In-Depth: The Unfinished War

"Different options are open. We will discuss with our Security Council partners what might be needed once the inspectors are to return," Villepin told reporters.

A senior European Union official said: "The question now is whether the Americans will take 'yes' for an answer."

Itar-Tass news agency quotes Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov as saying the move averted the "threat of a military scenario" and "steered the process back to a political channel."

A senior European Union official said: "The question now is whether the Americans will take 'yes' for an answer."

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher told Reuters the decision by Iraq was "the beginning of a process of easing the tensions."

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Iraq's move was unlikely to prevent U.S. action against Baghdad.

"I can't guess but the United States' commitment is far-reaching, very clear, and I almost don't see how it will retreat from it," he told Israel radio from New York, according to Reuters.

Peres said inspectors would not be able to locate all of Iraq's weapons factories. "I don't believe it, supervisory inspectors are useful only when dealing with fair people. Unfair people know how to get round it easily," he said.

QUICKVOTE Will Iraq allow unlimited access to U.N. weapons inspectors? Yes No View Results

Elsewhere, China's official Xinhua news agency quoted Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan as expressing relief over the Iraqi decision.

"The Iraqi decision is what the international community, including China, has always hoped to see," Tang told Xinhua.

"China will, together with the international community, continue to strive for the political settlement of the Iraqi issue within the framework of the United Nations."

Australia and New Zealand have welcomed the move, saying it is a promising development. Australian Prime Minister John Howard said the move was a "cautious first step" in averting war.

Howard said the world should treat Iraq's latest move with "a great deal of caution, a great deal of reserve and even a touch of scepticism."

"We are cautiously optimistic but the world would be deluded to imagine that this is the end of the difficulty and the mere expression of willingness on the part of Iraq to re-admit weapons inspectors means that the world can take its eye off this issue," he said.

Australia has been a staunch supporter of the U.S.-led push to force Iraq to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions on weapons inspectors.

The national parliament is set to debate the issue and possible Australian involvement in military action in Iraq later Tuesday.

In New Zealand, Prime Minister Helen Clark said her nation would contribute personnel to a U.N. inspection team. She told reporters she was still waiting on advice from the New Zealand post at the U.N. but the reports were "very encouraging."

"On the surface we have a statement which says 'no conditions, come in'. If that's true that's good news," New Zealand Press Association reports Clark saying. She said the NZ government had received a request from the U.N. for around 10 weapons inspectors.

In the largely Muslim nation of Malaysia, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Iraq's willingness to allow the inspectors back in should be reciprocated by a lifting of sanctions, The Associated Press reported.

"For agreeing to that, I think we should take action to lift sanctions," Mahathir told reporters.

"Sanctions are hurting not Saddam Hussein, it's hurting a lot of poor people, old people, pregnant mothers. You are not doing anything good by punishing them for something they are not responsible for."

Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Morshed Khan told CNN the move was a good start but suggested the proof of the pudding was in the eating.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.