NEW YORK, Sept 15: Iraq is ready to allow international arms inspectors back into the country, Lebanon’s foreign minister, Mahmoud Hammoud, told reporters at the United Nations on Saturday. But he said there was no timetable yet.

Hammoud said Iraqi Foreign Minister Baji Sabri, who is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, would consult his leaders in Baghdad and inform other Arab foreign ministers of the outcome.

Both Sabri and Hammoud attended a meeting of the Arab group, which represents Arab members of the United Nations, where the Iraqi official conveyed Baghdad’s willingness to readmit UN inspectors.

“There’s no timetable...the Iraqi foreign minister will come back to the Arab group’s meeting after consulting his leaders and tell us the result of his consultations,” Hammoud said.

Earlier, in Baghdad, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, Tareq Aziz had refused to allow the inspectors into Iraq, calling it “out of the question”.

Hammoud said he was aware of Aziz’s comment, but that he had a feeling that the Arab group was moving in the right direction.

“The Iraqi foreign minister is going to convey the ambience and the environment of this Arab meeting to his leaders,” he said.

Earlier, UN secretary-general Kofi Annan met Arab foreign ministers to discuss Iraq and the Middle East. It was followed by a separate meeting with Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League.

Moussa brought the Iraqi foreign minister along to that meeting.

After the meeting, a UN spokesman told reporters that the three leaders “discussed the situation in the Middle East and Iraq, including the question of the return of UN weapons inspectors.”