The U.N. chief weapons inspectors emerged from key talks with Iraq officials Sunday, saying they saw signs of a "change of heart" from Baghdad over disarmament demands and that further U.N. inspections were preferBoth Blix and ElBaradei avoided saying they were convinced Iraq now was ready to cooperate fully with the inspection program. Blix quipped that the "proof is in the pudding." However, their comments about signs of change likely will strengthen calls by France, Germany, Russia, China and others to allow more time for inspections - possibly several months - and undermine U.S. efforts to win international support for an imminent military showdown.

The weekend session, ahead of Blix and ElBaradei's report this week to the U.N. Security Council, could help decide the next steps taken by the council in the months-long standoff that has left the Middle East suspended between war and peace.

But with tens of thousands of American troops in the Gulf preparing for war, President Bush reiterated Sunday that it was time for action against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Saddam "wants the world to think that hide-and-seek is a game that we should play. And it's over," Bush told congressional Republicans at a policy conference. "It's a moment of truth for the United Nations. The United Nations gets to decide shortly whether or not it is going to be relevant in terms of keeping the peace, whether or not its words mean anything."

Asked Sunday about Blix's statement, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer noted that Bush has said, "Given the fact that Saddam Hussein is not disarming, time is running out."

However, the United States was faced with renewed opposition in Europe to an Iraq war. Germany's defense minister said Sunday the Germany and France would present a proposal to the Security Council next week to send U.N. soldiers to disarm Iraq - a plan U.S. officials denounced as ineffective.

And Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country holds veto powers on the council - reiterated his strong opposition to military action against Baghdad.

Blix and ElBaradei, who make their next report to the U.N. Security Council on Friday, had gone into their weekend talks in Baghdad to press for greater cooperation on a range of issues - technical matters, such as using the U-2s and getting private access to scientists, and issues of substance, including answers to outstanding questions on biological and chemical weapons.

Blix told AP on Sunday that whereas in the past weeks Iraqi officials "belittled" the inspectors' demands, "for the first time today I think they were focusing upon these issues."

"I perceive a beginning," Blix told reporters earlier. "Breakthrough is a strong word for what we are seeing." But he added: "I would much rather see inspections than some other solution," referring to Washington's threats to launch a military strike.

Blix said he had received assurances that Iraq would expand a commission to search for weapons and weapons programs and "relevant documents nationwide," and that he had hopes that Iraq was taking the disarmament issue seriously
During the two days of meetings, the Iraqis submitted a number of documents related to outstanding issues of anthrax, VX nerve gas and Iraqi missile development, Blix said.

He said those documents would have to be reviewed intensively by U.N. experts in the coming days to determine their value. Blix also said he was hopeful that Iraq would soon enact legislation banning weapons of mass destruction.

Blix also said "we had some discussions with their scientists," but he did not elaborate.

ElBaradei said the talks showed "hopefully a beginning of a change of heart" from the Iraqis.

But he said that with the Security Council "impatient," he and Blix told the Iraqis "we want to see quick progress, drastic change. Something spectacular has to happen, a new environment in the next days and weeks."

On the issue of U-2 flights, Blix said he expected the Iraqis to respond by Friday. The Iraqis have refused to accept U-2 flights unless the United States and Britain suspend air patrols in the "no-fly" zones while the spy plane is aloft.

In other developments Sunday:

*_U.N. inspectors found another empty chemical rocket warhead at an ammunition depot north of Baghdad. Inspectors have found 18 such warheads during inspections over recent weeks although none have been loaded with chemical agents.

*_Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri visited Iran in a surprise diplomatic move. Tehran, a leading opponent of Saddam Hussein's regime, has rejected military intervention without U.N. approval.

*_Pope John Paul II ordered a special envoy sent to Iraq to emphasize his plea for peace and to encourage Iraqi authorities to cooperate with the United Nations.

*_Coalition aircraft patrolling the no-fly zone in southern Iraq attacked an Iraqi military mobile command and control center near Al Kut, about 95 miles southeast of Baghdad, U.S. Central Command said.

*_Kuwait, a likely staging ground for a U.S. attack on Iraq, welcomed a decision by fellow Persian Gulf states to send troops from their combined military force to defend it against any Iraqi threats.

PHOTO CAPTION

Chief United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix, right, and Chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohammed ElBaradei speak during a television interview at the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq Sunday Feb. 9, 2003. (AP Photo/David Gut