BAGHDAD, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix on Monday concluded the first round of talks with Iraq officials shortly after his team arrived in Baghdad to resume inspections of Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction.
Speaking after talks at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Blix said the next round of talks with the Iraqi team headed by Lt. Gen. Amer al Saadi would be held Tuesday and will focus on issues related to the operations of the international inspectors.
He refused to give further details.
The first round of talks Monday was believed to have focused on organizational issues related to the mission of the inspectors who are due to start work Nov. 27.
Blix and Mohammad ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, were expected to meet with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Aziz and Foreign Minister Naji Sabri late Monday or early Tuesday to discuss details of the inspection plan and facilities Iraq can provide to complete the U.N. mission.
Earlier, Blix said the situation was very tense but Iraq had a "new chance" as the inspectors' mission would be limited to searching for the country's suspected weapons of mass destruction. He promised that the inspectors would carry out their mission with "credibility and professionalism in the interests of Iraq and the world."
"We are seeking to ease the tension and our mission is confined to searching for weapons of mass destruction and we hope there will not be such weapons," Blix said upon his arrival in Baghdad.
He also expressed satisfaction over Iraq's stated willingness to cooperate with the inspection teams, saying: "We hope cooperation will not be interrupted in order to be able to fulfill our mission properly."
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, on Monday urged Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to comply with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441, which prompted Iraq to grant inspectors unfettered access to all sites suspected of concealing non-conventional weapons.
ElBaradei said journalists will not be allowed to accompany U.N. inspectors. He said the journalists will be permitted to drive with the inspectors to the sites but will be banned from monitoring the inspectors' activities.
He expressed hope the inspectors will be able to submit "credible reports" to the Security Council after "carrying out their mission in an in-depth and comprehensive manner."
Iraq had said it wanted to have journalists monitor the inspectors' activities to report any possible provocative action or violation on their part of international resolutions.
Blix and ElBaradei were accompanied by 23 international arms experts -- including 13 U.N. inspectors and 10 IAEA employees. They landed at Saddam International Airport around mid-day, almost four years after U.N. inspectors left the country on the eve of intensive U.S.-British air strikes called Operation Desert Fox Operation in December 1998.
The team of inspectors was met at the airport by Saddam's adviser, Lt. Gen. Amer al-Saidi, and the head of the National Inspection Department Hussam Mohammed Amin.
Saidi and Blix were scheduled to have a news conference at the end of two days during which they will officially announce the relaunching of the international inspection mission.
The arms experts are expected to start their work Nov. 27, following an official Iraqi go ahead. In the meantime, U.N.-Iraq talks will focus on logistics, including the rehabilitation of the headquarters of the inspection teams at the Qanat Hotel in central Baghdad.
