United Nations: In an attempt to breathe life into the dying diplomatic process, France, Russia and Germany called for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at Foreign Ministers' level on Iraqi crisis on March 18, but diplomats say it is futile unless there is real change of heart by major powers, which is highly unlikely.

The proposal came as American President George W Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Spanish counterpart Jose Maria Aznar were meeting in the pacific island of Azores on March 16, as a last ditch effort to win support in the Council for their resolution to authorise military strike to disarm Iraq and chart their course of action if they fail to get the requisite backing.

Among their options is the withdrawal of a second resolution and taking action under authority of the previous 1441 resolution.

The Foreign Ministers' meeting has been proposed to coincide with chief weapons inspector Hans Blix identifying in the Council the key disarmament tasks for Iraq on March 18.

France, Russia and Germany advocate giving Baghdad "realistic" timeframe to fulfil disarmament tasks, but without threatening it with an ultimatum.

They issued a joint statement on March 15, reiterating there is no justification for war as UN weapons inspections are working something with the US and its allies are in dispute.

Given the circumstances, the March 18 meeting could become just a replay of the previous ones without any tangible outcome, diplomats say.

In another development, Iraq invited chief weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed el Baradei to visit Baghdad for discussion on issues related to disarmament, which diplomats say could buy some more time for Iraq.

But it was not known whether they would make the trip. A decision would come only after the two has consulted the Council.

An unidentified American official was quoted a saying it would be wise if inspectors take a decision only after the Azores summit.

They had visited Baghdad twice since the inspection began.

But the fact that tens of thousands of American troops are preparing was not lost on President Saddam Hussein, who put his country on war footing and divided the nation into four military regions under the command of his most trusted lieutenants.

But he kept the power to order use of aircraft and surface-to-surface missile with himself.

Reports suggested that President Hussein's son Qusay is in charge of areas around Baghdad and his hometown of Tikrit.

In Washington, Bush prepared the nation for possible war in his radio address, saying crucial days lie ahead for countries interested in promoting security and averting tragedy.

Bush's move to have the Azores meeting, diplomats and officials say, suggest he is prepared to go extra miles to politically bail out Blair, who is facing wrath of people as also some of his party members who oppose going to war with Iraq at present time.

The French-Russian-German trio, in the declaration issued by Foreign Ministry in Paris, asserted that force can be used only as a last resort and they "solemnly" called on all Council members to do everything possible for peaceful disarmament of Iraq.

The three are at the forefront of opposition to US plans to invade Iraq. But French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told a French television network that his country is prepared to agree for a "tight" disarmament but would not agree to any clause that automatically triggers war.

Meanwhile, to show that they are increasing their co-operation, Iraqi officials gave names of 183 more scientists involved in its chemical programmes, United Nations officials said.

PTI