Baghdad seeks 145;magic formula146;

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has urged the international community to devise a 8216;8216;magical formula8217;8217; to resolve ...

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has urged the international community to devise a 8216;8216;magical formula8217;8217; to resolve its dispute with the United Nations and the US over weapons disarmament and inspections.

Aziz8217;s plea, delivered on Saturday during a Baghdad press conference, appeared aimed at averting a possible US attack against Iraq even as differences persisted among key states over the use of arms on Iraq.

The Deputy PM8217;s remarks mirrored an interview he gave to a Saudi-owned TV station aired on Friday, during which he said Baghdad opposed the unconditional return of weapons inspectors to Iraq 8212; a key UN requirement.

Aziz on Saturday did not reject the inspector8217;s return outright, but criticised their predecessors for being more interested in earning large salaries than conducting proper inspections. 8216;8216;We are ready for any formula that reaches a conclusion. But when people come and drag their feet for years just to make business and create provocations, this is not a solution,8217;8217; Aziz said.

Aziz said he met with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, urging him to come up with a 8216;8216;magical formula8217;8217; to resolve the Iraqi crisis. He said 8216;8216;the magic solution8217;8217; would be something to satisfy the international community, Security Council and Iraq, adding that Baghdad does not currently have a 8216;8216;proposal that we can study and deal with as a comprehensive balanced proposal8217;8217; to resolve the standoff.

8216;8216;If there is a solution that protects the sovereignty, pride, and legitimate rights of Iraq, and prevents the aggression and leads to the truth, we are ready for it. What has been presented is not a solution,8217;8217; Aziz told reporters in Arabic.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the UN General Assembly on Saturday: 8216;8216;We have to be clear to Iraq and to ourselves about the consequences which will flow from a failure by Iraq to met its obligations.8217;8217; But his German counterpart, Joschka Fischer, said Germany rejected any automatic threat of military force against Iraq. 8216;8216;The UN has to not only maintain the pressure on Iraq but also to intensify it,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;We do not want, however, any automatism leading to use of military force.8217;8217; In Belgrade, Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica was quoted saying 8216;8216;all multilateral action 8212; non-violent, based on negotiations and the law 8212; is better than its opposite.8217;8217; New Zealand8217;s Foreign Minister Phil Goff acknowledged that Iraq was a threat to world peace but said: 8216;8216;We must look for solutions which will resolve and not exacerbate the threat.8217;8217;

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Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi said on Saturday after talks with Bush at Camp David that action would be taken against Iraq early next year if Baghdad continued to bar UN inspectors. He said he had told Bush that Saddam was 8216;8216;a pragmatic man8217;8217; who, rather than risk a US attack, would give in to UN demands.