[Pfc.Green]

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iraq said on Wednesday it accepted a new U.N. Security Council resolution, which orders Baghdad to disarm, cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors or face "serious consequences."

"I delivered a letter to the secretary-general's office," Iraq's U.N. ambassador Mohammed Aldouri told reporters. "It was a positive reply."


Aldouri described the six-page letter as setting out Baghdad's entire position on the resolution, adopted by a 15-0 vote last Friday.

"We are waiting for the inspectors to go as scheduled," Aldouri said. "We are eager to see the inspectors perform their duties in accordance with international law."


Aldouri said Baghdad has accepted the resolution in an effort to avoid war.


"This is a part of our policy that is to protect our country, to protect the nation, to protect our region also from the threat of war which is real," he said.


The letter was signed by Foreign Minister Naji Sabri.


The Security Council had given Iraq a one-week deadline to Nov. 15, to accept the resolution and promise to abide by its terms. Aldouri said his country agreed to the measure in order to avoid a U.S.-led attack.


Iraq's acceptance came as a surprise as most council members expected Baghdad to wait until Friday. The letter arrived a day after the Iraqi parliament voted unanimously to reject the resolution and its terms.


Aldouri said again his country had no weapons of mass destruction and would make that clear. Iraq next month has to give a declaration of any weapons programs or components of dangerous weapons it still may have under terms of the resolution.

An advance party of U.N. technicians is expected to go to Baghdad on Monday to prepare for inspections, not expected for another week or two.

China's deputy U.N. ambassador, Yishan Zhang, who holds this month's Security Council presidency, said the 15-member body welcomed "the correct decision of the Iraqi government."

"We want to see the resolution implemented fully and very effectively," he said.

A U.S. official, however, said, "We shouldn't make more of this than there is. This is their responsibility under the council mandate."

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And the games begin...