CRISIS IN THE PERSIAN GULF : India Official Off to Iraq, Hopes to Help Prevent War

India’s foreign minister left for Iraq on Thursday night, saying he will appeal to President Saddam Hussein to avoid war and allow 185,000 Indian citizens to leave Iraq and Iraqi-occupied Kuwait.

External Affairs Minister Inder K. Gujral said before departing on commercial flights via London and Amman, Jordan, that he hopes to help prevent a flare-up of hostilities in the Persian Gulf crisis that threatens economic and financial calamity for India, the world’s second most populous country.

But he emphasized that he is neither a mediator nor a messenger and suggested the crisis is not yet ripe for mediation. “I don’t think that bridge is ready to cross . . . the concerned parties must make up their minds if they want to defuse or not.”

Gujral met Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze in Moscow Tuesday, then flew here for talks with Secretary of State James A. Baker on Wednesday and other officials on Thursday.

India imports about half of its petroleum. Half of this comes from Kuwait and Iraq. Also, Indians working in the area provide a substantial portion of India’s foreign exchange.