Annan Signals He'll Agree to Send U.N. Experts to Iraq
By WARREN HOGE

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 19 — Secretary General Kofi Annan gave strong indications on Monday that he would accept a request to send United Nations experts to Iraq, in a move that could help end the stalemate over how to turn over authority to an Iraqi-led government.

Mr. Annan met Monday with top American, British and Iraqi officials from Baghdad. The meeting came after months of ill will between the United States and the United Nations, which refused to authorize the Bush administration's decision to use military action. Last fall, after a fatal bombing at its Baghdad headquarters, the United Nations pulled out of Iraq, citing security concerns and a lack of clarity about its role.

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Striking a stance that was at once cooperative and cautious, Mr. Annan told a news conference that he understood the urgency of the issue but that "further discussions should take place at the technical level." Those discussions began almost immediately, with United Nations election experts being briefed on the complicated political plans by which the occupation authority hopes to transfer power to Iraqis on June 30.

Diplomats said that despite Mr. Annan's careful public statements, it appeared likely that he would decide quickly to approve the request. A European diplomat who took part in the meeting said, "In my experience at the United Nations, when you say you'll consider something, you've already put your foot on the slope."

The occupation authorities had largely shunned the United Nations in their political planning but have suddenly turned to it now that the most revered cleric among Iraq's majority Shiite Muslims, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has objected to the American plans for a transition and has instead called for direct elections. Thousands of his followers have staged demonstrations backing his plea. A march on Monday in Baghdad drew 100,000.