Iraq said it was considering UN demands to destroy banned missiles to avert war, as Washington rallied support for a new UN disarmament resolution that could be offered in the next few days.Baghdad also asked for a postponement of an Arab summit scheduled for Saturday, while chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix told a US newsweekly the regime of President Saddam Hussein could not be trusted.

Iraq's top disarmament liaison officer said Baghdad was still studying Blix's order to begin destroying by Saturday its stock of al-Samoud 2 missiles, which UN inspectors have determined exceed the permitted 150-kilometer (93-mile) range limits.

General Hossam Mohammad Amin said destruction of the missiles would hurt Iraq's capability to defend itself.

Washington Rallies Support for UN Resolution

The United States was meanwhile rallying support for a new UN resolution on Iraq, which Washington could unveil as early as Monday as it tightens the screws on Saddam.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in China on his second stop of a diplomatic tour to Japan, China and South Korea to get backing from Asian powers for a US-led war.

But he faces a tougher sell in China, a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council which has repeatedly voiced its opposition to US President George W. Bush's calls for war.

Powell was expected to ask Beijing to abstain from a Security Council vote if it will not give its blessing for a new resolution authorizing an attack during meetings Monday with Chinese leaders.

Meanwhile, British newspapers said a draft of a new UN resolution on Iraq would be presented Monday, although this was not confirmed by British or US diplomats.

A French diplomatic source said the resolution would be presented Tuesday.

US President George W. Bush has insisted time is running out for the world body to enforce its Resolution 1441, which gave Baghdad a final chance to disarm under threat of possible military action when it was unanimously approved November 8.

Iraq Requests Postponement of Arab Summit

In Cairo, Iraq formally requested that an Arab summit scheduled for Saturday be put off until after March 14, when the Security Council is due to meet on Iraq, to avoid pressure from Arab leaders allied with Washington.

One of those leaders, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, urged Arab states to press ahead with an early meeting.

"An Arab summit that is held after a (US-led) strike would be meaningless. It would worsen the Arab situation and lead to a war of words among Arab states," he warned.

The Arab world has been deeply divided over the readiness of the pro-Western Gulf states to host a massive US troop buildup around Iraq.

Other Key Developments in Iraqi Crisis

*_ Kurdish officials in northern Iraq warned of clashes between Turks and Kurds should Turkey send thousands of troops into the region in any U.S.-led war against Iraq. The two main Kurdish parties expressed unified opposition to any deployment, charging that the Turkish presence will destabilize the autonomous area in northern Iraq.

*_ Turkey's parliament likely will vote early this week on allowing tens of thousands of U.S. combat troops in the country ahead of a possible Iraq war, said Turkey's foreign minister, Yasar Yakis. He said there remained only a few outstanding issues on the economic, political and military conditions of the deployment.

*_ Syria, the only Arab nation on the U.N. Security Council, told the United States on Sunday that a new resolution urging Iraq to disarm or face war was not justified.

*_ A summit of mostly developing nations meeting in Malaysia backed strong calls for Iraq to disarm. But Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad denounced U.S.-led preparations for an assault on Iraq, saying Sunday an attack would be seen throughout the Islamic world as "a war against Muslims."

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General Hossam Mohammad Amin said destruction of the missiles would hurt Iraq's capability to defend itself.