Bush Proposing Baker Meet Iraqi Official Next Week : Gulf crisis: President says he is willing to ‘go the extra mile for peace’ by offering talks with Hussein’s foreign minister. But he insists on ‘no compromises.’

Declaring his willingness to “go the extra mile for peace,” President Bush proposed Thursday that Secretary of State James A. Baker III and Iraqi Foreign Minister Tarik Aziz meet in Switzerland next week.

At the same time, the President withdrew his previous offer to meet with an Iraqi representative in Washington, and the prospects for a visit by Baker to Baghdad, to meet with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, remain unclear.

“This offer is being made subject to the same conditions as my previous attempt: no negotiations, no compromises, no attempts at face-saving and no rewards for aggression,” Bush said in a written statement. “What there will be if Iraq accepts this offer is simply and importantly an opportunity to resolve this crisis peacefully.”

There was no immediate response from Iraq. “We have a new American proposal, but it is too early to comment. We are studying it,” an Iraqi Foreign Ministry official said, according to the Associated Press.

“We hope that Iraq will respond positively to our new offer,” Baker said during a State Department ceremony at which Edward W. Gnehm Jr., a deputy assistant secretary of state, was sworn in as the new U.S. ambassador to Kuwait. “We do remain prepared to act. . . . Iraq must now choose to quit the soil of its peaceful neighbor or risk devastating consequences.”

Referring to the U.N. Security Council’s deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait or face the use of force by the U.S.-led coalition, Baker said: “As Jan. 15 approaches, we are closer and closer to restoring Kuwait’s sovereignty, whether by peace or whether by force. But Kuwait’s sovereignty is going to be restored.”

Later, Baker said the offer of a meeting with Aziz in Switzerland is “the last such proposal we will make.”

Interviewed on the ABC-TV program “Prime Time Live,” Baker said he still hopes for a peaceful resolution of the Gulf crisis but added, “I am not as optimistic as I was before Christmas.” He did not elaborate.

Asked if Hussein thinks the United States is bluffing in its threat to use force if Iraq does not end its occupation of Kuwait, Baker said, “We tend to believe that, because his behavior so far would indicate that he doesn’t believe the United States is serious. . . . He’s wrong.”

However, Baker reiterated that if Iraq does get out of Kuwait, “they can expect that we will not use force against them.”

In effect, Bush’s new proposal sends two signals. One--the refusal to negotiate--is clearly intended for Hussein. The second--the President’s willingness to make one more attempt to resolve the crisis without bloodshed--is aimed at Congress, which has yet to demonstrate the full measure of support the White House would like, and at members of the international coalition arrayed against Iraq.

“We certainly want everyone--that includes Congress, the American people and the allies--to understand we’re going the extra mile,” said a White House official, in an acknowledgment that--if the offer is not accepted--Bush can cite it in response to any suggestions that he was unwilling to pursue a dialogue with Iraq.

Bush met for about an hour and a half Thursday, the first day of the new congressional session, with senior Democratic and Republican members of the House and Senate, greeting them at the start of a new year by observing: “I hope it proves to be a peaceful one.”

The congressional leaders told the President that he could not count on majority support for the early use of force if Iraq does not comply with the Jan. 15 deadline.

Separately, Sens. Brock Adams (D-Wash.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) demanded quick congressional action on a measure aimed at preventing Bush from launching a swift attack if the deadline is not met.

Baker is leaving Washington on Sunday on a trip scheduled to take him to Europe, Saudi Arabia and probably other Persian Gulf points for what Bush said will be “several days of close consultations” with allies in the region.

The President said that Baker could meet with Aziz in Switzerland next Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, roughly one week before the Jan. 15 deadline. White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater later said that Geneva is the likely site for such a meeting.

Asked if there is a chance that Baker will visit Baghdad to meet with Hussein, Fitzwater responded: “We’ve had no indication that Saddam Hussein is interested in that.”

“It’s not in the cards,” said another White House official. “But you can’t rule anything out these days.”

The decision to propose the meeting with Aziz was the result of a meeting between Bush and his senior national security and foreign policy advisers on New Year’s night and follow-up sessions on Wednesday, the official said.

Cables were dispatched to coalition allies Wednesday night informing them of the decision, and Bush then spoke by telephone about 5:30 a.m. Thursday with French President Francois Mitterrand and British Prime Minister John Major.

The proposal was presented at midday by Joseph C. Wilson IV, the U.S. charge d’affaires in Baghdad, to Nazar Hamdoon, the Iraqi deputy foreign minister, the White House spokesman said.

“We have asked them for a response by Jan. 5,” Fitzwater said.

He said that Baker would carry with him a letter from Bush to Hussein, for delivery by Aziz, “stating his views and the American position and the strength of our commitment to the U.N. resolutions.”

Fitzwater said there had been no suggestion before the proposal was made that Iraq was interested in a meeting.

The President’s offer won immediate praise overseas.

“This is a good step and a very important step, and I hope it will bring a peaceful resolution to the crisis,” said King Hussein of Jordan.

German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher said in a statement that Bush’s move showed that “the United States is trying everything to achieve a peaceful solution.”

The mood on Capitol Hill was decidedly less upbeat.

“I was encouraged by the fact the offer was made to meet with Aziz . . . but there was no indication they felt that any progress would be made,” said Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.), after attending a closed-door briefing conducted by Baker and Defense Secretary Dick Cheney. “What we will see between now and the 15th is a real intensification of diplomatic activity by us and by others, and if nothing comes out of it, then the chances of war will escalate dramatically.”

Rep. Dante Fascell (D-Fla.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that many lawmakers are pessimistic about the chances that Baker’s mission would meet with success and skeptical about the Administration’s intentions in offering another opportunity for a meeting with Aziz.

Reflecting that view, Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.), shook her head when asked if she thought the Administration seriously believed that a meeting with Aziz could defuse the crisis.

Times staff writers Norman Kempster and Michael Ross contributed to this report.