HIGHLIGHTS: Iraqi Invitation to be Discussed by UN Security Council Members at a Lunchtime Meeting Monday||Moscow Welcomes Proposal; Washington & London Accuse Saddam of Playing Games||Iraqi Kurds Wary of U.S. Plans to Oust Saddam||Sen. Shelby Says Saddam Is Playing the UN Card to Delay the Inevitable|| STORY: Iraq's invitation for the chief UN weapons inspector to visit Baghdad for talks was met with extreme caution by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who wants the Security Council to review the matter.

UN spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters that Annan "welcomes" Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri's letter, but that "the procedure proposed is at variance with the one laid down by the Security Council" in 1999.

In a letter to Annan, Sabri extended an invitation to chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix and members of his team, to discuss the possible resumption of weapons inspections.

Eckhard said Annan "promptly" shared the letter with members of the Security Council and "looks forward to discussing it with them" at a lunchtime meeting on Monday.

MOSCOW WELCOMES IRAQ PROPOSAL; WASHINGTON & LONDON ACCUSE SADDAM OF PLAYING GAMES

Russia's foreign ministry hailed the Iraqi proposal as "an important step in the right direction towards resolving the crisis through political and diplomatic means in the framework of UN Security Council resolutions."

London and Washington, meanwhile, accused Baghdad of playing "games."

"Saddam has a long history of playing games. As his track record shows, he does not deliver," a spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office said in London.

IRAQI KURDISH OFFICIAL WARY OF PLANNED U.S. STRIKE

Meanwhile, a senior official from a prominent northern Iraqi Kurdish faction expressed grave concern for the future of their Western-protected region amid growing fears that a US attack to oust the Baghdad regime was imminent.

"We have serious political and security concerns for our future," Barham Salih, from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said Friday after talks with Turkish diplomats.

The Anatolia news agency reported that Salih reiterated the PUK's desire for democracy in Iraq, but nonetheless voiced anxiety over who would replace Iraqi President Saddam Hussein should he be deposed as his arch-enemy the United States has vowed to do.

The PUK, which shares control of northern Iraq with another Kurdish faction, had previously said that it favoured a democratic change in Iraq involving forces within the country rather than outside military intervention.

Salih is scheduled to leave Turkey on Saturday for a meeting of Iraqi opposition figures later this month in Washington to discuss the future of the country.

SENATOR SHELBY WARNS OF IRAQ

In Washington, the Senate Intelligence Committee's top Republican says he believes Iraq is developing weapons of mass destruction at multiple sites and a pre-emptive strike is warranted to stop Saddam Hussein from doing "irreparable damage" to Americans.

Sen. Richard Shelby also warned in an Associated Press interview Friday that "between now and Sept. 11, I'd be very alert" for new terror attacks by an al-Qaida network desperate for a victory.

Shelby, who met Thursday with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on the Iraqi situation, said a new American strike aimed at taking out Hussein is inevitable.

Shelby also dismissed Iraq's invitation to bring a United Nations weapons inspector back to the country for talks. It has been nearly four years since inspections were allowed.

"He's playing the so-called U.N. card right now, trying to delay the inevitable," Shelby said.

PHOTO CAPTION

A U.N. car is seen outside the U.N. headquarters building in Baghdad Friday, Aug. 2. 2002. Facing an increasing possibility of U.S. military action, Iraq gave the first solid indication in nearly four years that it would allow U.N. weapons inspectors to return and invited the chief inspector to Baghdad for talks. (AP Photo/Jassim Mohammed).