In Baghdad, U.N. Leader Presses for End of Crisis

In an exhausting series of meetings stretching into the early hours of this morning, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and top Iraqi officials tried to fashion a written agreement intended to end the crisis over U.N. weapons inspections and avert a U.S.-British airstrike on Iraq.

The official Iraqi news agency today described the talks as “difficult” but said they will continue. A U.N. spokesman refused to characterize the sessions, which lasted until 2 a.m. and were scheduled to resume at 10:30 this morning.

The news agency said Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had been briefed on the discussions by Deputy Prime Minister Tarik Aziz, who heads the Iraqi delegation.

Hussein was also reported to be conferring with the Revolutionary Command Council, one of Iraq’s principal governing bodies.

In Washington, the White House expressed guarded optimism Saturday that Annan will find a formula to defuse the crisis, but officials added that preparations for military action are proceeding without regard to the diplomatic activity.

President Clinton met for about 90 minutes Saturday with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen, National Security Advisor Samuel R. “Sandy” Berger and other strategists to discuss contingency plans for bombing and other military action.

The stepped-up pace of the meetings in Baghdad, held behind closed doors at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, was spurred by a U.N.-imposed deadline for concluding an agreement by tonight and amid reports out of Washington of signs of imminent attack.

In one such indication, the State Department urged Americans in Iraq to leave as soon as possible because “conditions throughout the country remain unsettled and dangerous.”

Clinton canceled plans for a weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland to remain in the White House and monitor Annan’s talks.

White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said a midweek trip to California remains on the president’s schedule but will be reassessed “on a day-to-day basis.”

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Berger said that Annan had not contacted the White House since he arrived in Baghdad.

Based on conversations before the secretary-general departed, Berger said, the administration is confident that Annan will uphold the Security Council’s demand for unlimited access to all suspected weapons sites in Iraq.

Berger said the president remains hopeful that diplomacy will succeed but that “U.S. military preparations are proceeding without regard to these talks.”

The bargaining sessions in Baghdad, which began at 9 a.m. Saturday and continued off and on throughout the day, recessed without an official announcement.

During a midday break, however, Annan said in a brief interview that he anticipated meeting Hussein sometime today, and he sounded optimistic about reaching an agreement.

Annan, who devoted most of his time to one-on-one meetings with Aziz, declined to provide details. However, it is known that he is trying to draw up new procedures for arms inspections of eight so-called presidential sites that the Iraqi government has placed off limits to U.N. disarmament experts.

The inspectors are charged with eliminating Iraq’s ability to wage chemical, biological and nuclear war.

The plan under discussion centers on proposals to permit inspectors into the compounds accompanied by diplomats from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council: the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia.

Annan must persuade the Iraqis to permit such an arrangement and to abandon their demand that inspections be limited to a single 60-day period.

At the same time, if Annan makes any concessions to coax Hussein into an agreement, he runs the risk of the U.S. rejecting the package and pressing forward with a bombing campaign.

Some diplomatic sources here suggested that Annan still might go for a compromise in hopes of later winning agreement from the United States.

Clinton has said he will disregard any pact that places limits on where inspectors can search for illegal weapons or that compromises the integrity of the U.N. inspection system.

Saturday began with a 90-minute talk between Annan and Aziz. They were joined briefly by Hans Corell, the U.N.’s chief legal officer, who is drawing up the proposed agreement.

That was followed by a more formal session in which Annan and Aziz were joined by senior assistants and Iraqi government ministers. The session was dominated by a lengthy recitation by Aziz of perceived insults to Iraq by the U.N. arms inspection team, known as the U.N. Special Commission on Iraq, or UNSCOM.

After a lunch break, the talks resumed mainly between Annan and Aziz, U.N. spokesmen said. They were joined at times by senior aides.

Annan is accompanied on the trip by political and legal advisors and by representatives of UNSCOM.

In a short talk with representatives of the U.N. press corps during the midday recess, Annan appeared relaxed and upbeat.

He described the early discussions as substantive and declared himself as “rather optimistic.”

“We started well,” he said. “It’s not easy. We still have a lot of work.”

He spoke in a reception hall of the florid and heavily guarded government guest house where he is staying.

Annan also noted the heavy international press coverage of his visit, which is the biggest test he has faced since he assumed leadership of the world body in December 1996.

He added that Aziz was “really pleased” by the large press contingent.

Aides to Annan have been encouraged by the fact that Iraq, which normally is hostile to Western media, has permitted more than 300 reporters to cover the visit.

The aides suggested that the Iraqi regime may be willing to make a deal since so many witnesses have been allowed into the country.

Other observers, however, have suggested that Iraq may be seeking worldwide news coverage of any civilian casualties in the event of a U.S.-led attack.

In Washington, Berger said he “would expect” Clinton to make another address to the nation before the start of any military action.

“It is always incumbent on the president of the United States . . . if force is contemplated, to speak to the American people,” Berger said.

The U.N., meanwhile, stopped, at least temporarily, its exodus of employees out of Iraq.

Denis Halliday, who heads the main U.N. humanitarian program here, said no more employees will leave before Annan’s visit is completed.

The number of foreign workers in U.N. relief agencies here has dropped from 400 to 137 in recent weeks.

The agencies refer to the decrease in personnel as a “staff reduction” rather than a war evacuation.

Many of the remaining workers have their bags packed so they can leave expeditiously if an American strike seems imminent.

In a government-organized demonstration against a U.S. attack, 62 coffins were paraded through Baghdad on Saturday in a symbolic funeral for the children Iraq says have died recently because of shortages of medicine under U.N. sanctions.

Elsewhere in the Arab world, pro-Iraq rallies continued in several West Bank towns and in Jordan, where stone-throwing demonstrators injured two police officers and set fire to a state-owned bank. At least 20 people were injured in Maan, Jordan.

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Times staff writer Norman Kempster in Washington contributed to this report.

* THE MOOD IN SAN DIEGO: There is little enthusiasm for the strategic strike on Iraq called for by the president. A3

* IRAQI CAPITAL DISPIRITED: Gloom and fatalism pervade Baghdad, where some residents feel betrayed by the U.S. A12