Iraqi Official to Meet With U.N. on Arms Inspections : War’s aftermath: Move comes as major powers indicate impatience with foot-dragging.

Iraq’s foreign minister will meet Sunday with the Security Council president, apparently to deliver Baghdad’s much-awaited reply to U.N. demands to stop interfering with the work of the world body’s weapons-inspection teams.

The Iraqis’ move came Friday as the major powers indicated their patience was running out with Iraq’s foot-dragging in response to the Security Council demand Monday for renewed promises that Baghdad will obey the cease-fire terms, including free passage for U.N. helicopter-borne inspection teams.

“Certainly the Security Council is anxious to get a very quick answer,” French Ambassador Jean-Bernard Merimee, this month’s president of the Security Council, said Friday. He spoke just before getting word of Iraqi Foreign Minister Ahmed Hussein Khudayer’s request for an audience.

The French government wants the issue resolved swiftly, Merimee said. The British ambassador agreed. The U.S. ambassador expressed disappointment at Baghdad’s silence for the past week.

Meanwhile, in Vienna, Iraq became the first nation of the atomic age to be formally condemned for resisting efforts by the U.N.’s nuclear agency to hunt for signs that the Iraqis are making nuclear weapons. The vote was 71 to 1, with Iraq dissenting and seven nations abstaining.

The United Nations has charged its International Atomic Energy Agency with responsibility to find and destroy or neutralize all equipment and material that Iraq could use to make nuclear weapons. Iraq has denied having any weapons program, but as IAEA chief Hans Blix said, its “credibility is not great.”

He said the agency will give top priority to preventing Iraq from retaining any capacity to enrich uranium and will seek to discover which nations sold Iraq 100 or more centrifuges capable of purifying the nuclear material.

A team of U.N. inspectors was due to arrive in Baghdad today to search for material and equipment useful in making nuclear weapons, including heavy water supplied a decade ago. Such water, which moderates nuclear reactions, could be used in a reactor to manufacture bomb-grade material.

The nuclear team is the sixth U.N. inspection group sent to Iraq so far. Another team, searching for biological weapons facilities, is also in that country now.

Not all inspectors need helicopters for their missions, so Iraq’s refusal to allow unrestricted use of U.N. aircraft has not impeded other inspection efforts. Helicopters are mainly used by teams searching for Scuds and other ballistic missiles. Iraq’s attempt to stymie the work of a missile inspection team precipitated the current confrontation with Iraq over compliance with the cease-fire agreements ending the Gulf War.

In making his surprise announcement about Sunday’s meeting with Iraq’s foreign minister, Merimee said that he assumes the meeting was requested by the Iraqis “with a view to giving an answer” to the Security Council demand that Iraq stop impeding its inspectors’ work.

The general feeling at the United Nations has been that Iraq, with few other alternatives after being militarily humbled in the Gulf War by the U.S.-led coalition, will back down.

He earlier said the French government “feels very strongly about” the need for a prompt Iraqi answer, “and thinks that intervention by the council, some action by the council, is needed.” Discussions leading to possible actions were to be conducted over the weekend, he said. Asked whether time is running out for the Iraqis, the French ambassador said the council’s demand is “not an ultimatum--yet.”

David Hannay, the British U.N. envoy, was also reluctant to speak of deadlines but said, “This can’t go on for too much longer.”