HIGHLIGHTS: Tariq Aziz Appears to Reverse a Position He Took on Sunday in Interview with CNN||International Community Needs More Information about Iraqi Threat, Says Powell||Iraq's Diplomatic Charm Offensive to Isolate Washington Gathers Momentum|| STORY: Iraq held open on Monday the possibility of a resumption of weapons inspections, saying the return to Baghdad of U.N. experts was under consideration.

Remarks by Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz appeared to reverse a position he took on Sunday in an interview with CNN, when he said the inspectors' return was not an option.

"It's still under consideration," Aziz told Reuters on Monday when asked if Iraq was prepared to let the expert monitors, who left Baghdad in 1998, back into the country.

Aziz is in South Africa to represent his country at the Earth Summit, which is seeking ways to lift poor countries out of poverty without spoiling the environment.

Asked if he would have talks on the inspectors issue with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Johannesburg, Aziz replied: "I'm not sure. I may just be saying 'Hi' to an old friend."

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY NEEDS MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE IRAQI THREAT, SAYS POWELL

Aziz on Sunday told CNN the return of the inspectors was a "non-starter," saying Baghdad feared that if the inspectors returned they would manufacture a new crisis to give Washington a pretext to attack.

He renewed a call for U.S. Congressmen to come and inspect sites suspected of producing weapons of mass destruction.

Vice President Dick Cheney, keeping up a drumbeat for military action against Iraq, said last week that Saddam posed a "mortal threat" and argued that the return of the inspectors should not be the prime objective.

But Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday that Washington wanted U.N. weapons inspectors to return.

Powell said in a BBC interview he understood that the international community needed more information about the threat posed by Iraq before a decision was made on what should be done.

In Baghdad, the government has mounted a diplomatic offensive to try to rally world countries against a possible U.S. military action, sending several envoys to foreign and Arab leaders.

IRAQ'S DIPLOMATIC CHARM OFFENSIVE TO ISOLATE WASHINGTON CONTINUES

Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri arrived in Moscow on Monday as part of a tour of countries including Russia and Egypt.

Sources in Baghdad said Sabri was carrying letters from Saddam to leaders of the two countries. Both Russia and Egypt have expressed opposition to U.S. military action in Iraq.

Sabri was in China last week where he secured a Chinese opposition to the use of force against Baghdad.

Both Russia and China are permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

Iraqi officials said that in Johannesburg, Aziz would raise the issue of the U.S. plan to attack Iraq during bilateral contacts with some of the leaders attending the summit.

"We will dispatch envoys to all countries in the world ... to explain our position and rally them against the aggression," Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan told a group of Jordanian sympathizers in Baghdad on Monday.

"We should do everything to avoid an aggression against our country," added Ramadan who held talks last week in Lebanon and Syria.

Most European and Arab countries are urging Baghdad to accept the return of U.N. weapons inspectors.

PHOTO CAPTION

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell plans to step down at the end of President George W. Bush's current term in 2005, Time magazine reported on September 2, 2002. The magazine quoted sources close to Powell as saying that he has a firm plan for an exit after serving out the entire term. A source stressed that Powell was determined to serve out the entire term, even if the United States launches an invasion of Iraq, which Powell has fought to delay or derail. Powell testifies before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in this July 9, 2002 file photo. REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang-Files
- Sep 02 7:29 AM ET