Iraqi missiles are within the limits set by the United Nations , Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz said Thursday, dismissing suggestions that Baghdad's rocket program was in breach of U.N. resolutions. "We are still within limits that are decided by the United Nations," he told reporters as he arrived in Italy for talks aimed at averting a U.S. led-attack on Iraq.

Six independent experts have concluded that Iraq's production of the Al Samoud 2 missile had a range of over 93 miles, which is forbidden under U.N. Security Council resolutions. The Al Samoud repeatedly tested up to 24 miles beyond that limit.

However, Aziz suggested that any possible overshoot by the rocket was accidental.

"The main problem is that Iraqi missiles which are of a very short range don't have a guidance system and when a missile doesn't have a guidance system it goes five, 10, 15 kilometers beyond (target)," he said.

"That is not very dangerous and must not be exaggerated," he told reporters at Rome's Fiumicino airport, adding: "There is no serious violation."

Earlier Thursday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair  said that if reports about Iraq breaking limits on the range of its missiles were correct, Baghdad would be in breach of a U.N. resolution ordering it to disarm.

"If these reports are correct...it is very serious," Blair said after talks with Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Aziz is due to hold a round of talks with Italian politicians Thursday and will meet Pope John Paul  Friday.

The Pope is actively seeking a peaceful solution to the Iraqi crisis and has dispatched an envoy to Baghdad earlier this week for talks with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein .

PHOTO CAPTION

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, arrives in Damascus, Wednesday Feb. 12, 2003, on his way to the Vatican to meet Pope John Paul II. (AP Photo Bassem Tellawi