RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- After a meeting between allied and Iraqi generals, Iraq accepted yesterday a United Nations resolution setting terms for a formal cease-fire, clearing the way for an early release of prisoners of war and the withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraqi territory.
Baghdad radio said that Tariq Aziz, Iraq's foreign minister, announced the acceptance in a letter to the United Nations in which Iraq pledged to fulfill the terms "sincerely and as soon as possible." In a resolution adopted Saturday, the U.N. Security Council demanded that Iraq renounce all claims to Kuwait and agree in principle to pay reparations for war damages.
The letter amounted to a declaration of surrender, three days after the end of a lightning ground offensive that pushed Iraq out of Kuwait and only hours after the first face-to-face discussions between Iraqi and allied generals. President Saddam Hussein went unmentioned in the two-paragraph text.
The letter cited by Baghdad radio stated: "We hope that the U.N. Security Council will deal with our meeting of these obligations, which we will do sincerely and as soon as possible, objectively and honorably and in keeping with the provisions of international law and the rules of justice and fair play."
[Later last night, the Security Council committed itself to expediting humanitarian aid to Iraq, but the United States and its allies defeated an attempt to relax a stringent U.N. trade embargo on Baghdad for basic civilian needs, according to Reuters.]
Iraq's acceptance of the U.N. cease-fire resolution followed a two-hour meeting between an Iraqi military delegation and a delegation of allied officers led by Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of coalition forces. General Schwarzkopf announced that the delegations had made progress toward "a lasting peace" and reported that Iraq had "agreed on all matters" for the formal cease-fire.
"We have just completed very frank, very candid and very constructive discussions with the Iraqi military," he said when he emerged from the tent where the talks took place. "I am very happy to tell you that we agreed on all matters."
Iraq agreed to exchange prisoners of war under the supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross, beginning with a "symbolic release" that General Schwarzkopf said would occur "immediately."
The general said the coalition agreed to withdraw its forces from Iraqi territory after the signing of a formal cease-fire agreement.
The meeting between allied and Iraqi officers was held at an airstrip at Safwan, five miles north of the Iraq-Kuwait border and part of the broad swath of Iraqi territory captured by the coalition south of the Euphrates River.
Iraq's eight-member delegation was led by Lt. Gen. Sultan Hashim Ahmad, chief of military operations, and Lt. Gen. Salah Abbud Mahmoud, commander of the 3rd Army Corps. They arrived at the airstrip by car for an event that had the trappings of a surrender ceremony.
They found Safwan surrounded by U.S. M-1A1 tanks and shadowed by Apache AH-64 helicopters over
head. Several hundred U.S. soldiers surrounded the tent where the two delegations sat on folding chairs on opposite sides of a table.
General Schwarzkopf, wearing standard-issue Army camouflage, sat unsmiling next to Saudi Lt. Gen. Khalid bin Sultan, commander of allied Arab forces, when television cameras were allowed into the tent before the session began.
Generals Ahmad and Mahmoud, also unsmiling but turning briefly to face the cameras, wore green uniforms with ribbed sweaters. Behind the allied commanders were senior officers from coalition nations, while the rest of Iraq's delegation sat behind the Iraqi generals.
The session began about 11:30 a.m. (3:30 a.m. EST). Two hours later, General Schwarzkopf emerged to announce that all had gone well and that the next step was for Iraq officially to accept the Security Council resolution outlining truce terms.
"I would just say that I think that we have made a major step forward in the cause of peace," he said. "And I have every expectation that if we continue the open and frank and cooperative dialogue that we had today -- and I would say very candidly that the Iraqis came to discuss and to cooperate with a positive attitude -- that we are well on our way to a lasting peace."
General Schwarzkopf took care to avoid embarrassing the Iraqi officers, who did not issue a statement. When they arrived, he ordered them to be searched only with a metal detector, out of the sight of cameras. "I don't want them embarrassed in any way," he was overheard to say while walking to the tent. "I don't want them humiliated."
Iraq was said to have agreed to all matters requiring quick actions, including the following:
* Immediately releasing all prisoners of war. The coalition also demanded the names of any allied troops who died in Iraqi captivity and their remains.
No details were provided about a preliminary, symbolic release that General Schwarzkopf said would be "a token of good faith," but it apparently could take place within hours or days.
[At the United Nations last night, Iraqi Ambassador Abdul Amir al-Anbari told the Associated Press he believed that 10 foreign prisoners of war had been released, including six Americans. He said one of those released was a young woman.
[He said that Iraq had "already, I believe, released 10 POWs as a gesture of goodwill." However, Red Cross officials in Baghdad had no information on released prisoners.
[Iraq is known to hold nine U.S. prisoners of war. The only known woman among them is Army Spc. Melissa Rathbun-Nealy, 20, of Grand Rapids, Mich., who apparently was captured Jan. 30.]
In addition to the nine Americans, Iraq is known to have captured two Britons, an Italian and a Kuwaiti. An additional 45 Americans are listed as missing in action.
Coalition forces have more than 62,000 Iraqi prisoners, a number that senior officers say will rise.
* Releasing civilians taken prisoner. Allied officers have said that retreating Iraqi units took thousands of Kuwaiti civilians hostage, though the exact number is unknown.
Iraq's delegation agreed that civilians would be treated as prisoners of war, a status guaranteeing them certain minimum rights.
* Providing information about the location of minefields. Iraqi officers handed over maps said to show where Iraq placed mines in Kuwait and in the Persian Gulf.
Mines have killed at least two U.S. soldiers and two military physicians since the end of the ground war, and the U.S. military command has warned that safely removing mines will be "quite some process."
* Establishing a clear demarcation line between Iraqi and coalition forces on the battlefield. The two delegations agreed to a temporary border, roughly following the easternmost leg of the Euphrates River. Allied armies remain in control south of the river; Iraqi forces, to its north.
Marine Brig. Gen. Richard I. Neal, deputy chief of operations, said a clear border was needed to prevent allied and Iraqi units from mistakenly exchanging fire. "Both sides are very comfortable about the line of demarcation," he said. "There's unlikely to be any more big fights."
General Neal said members of the Iraqi delegation had expressed concern that unrest in Basra might prevent them from reaching Safwan. "I don't think they were worried too much about the safety, but just the chaos and the upheaval that's going on within that city," he said.
There also was indirect evidence that President Hussein was taking steps to protect his regime by redeploying his remaining forces. According to officers in Riyadh, armored units in northern Iraq, near Turkey, were moving south to within about 60 miles of Baghdad.
U.S. forces meanwhile took 1,405 Iraqis as prisoners from Failaka Island, which guards the entrance to Kuwait's harbor. Helicopters landed there, broadcasting surrender messages, after the Iraqis were seen waving white flags.
U.S. forces also continued to explore the Iraqi territory they now control and to take Iraqi equipment. The Army's 82nd Airborne Division found 12 Iraqi aircraft and eight helicopters in shelters and also took possession of several artillery systems.
The military command said coalition forces had either destroyed or captured 3,300 Iraqi tanks, about 75 percent of the total stationed in and around Kuwait; 2,100 other armored vehicles, or 75 percent; and 2,200 artillery pieces, or 70 percent.
At least some of the captured arms might be given to coalition forces using Soviet equipment.
The allies' terms
Iraqi officers reportedly agreed to these cease-fire conditions:
* An immediate release of all prisoners of war and the remains of any allied troops who died in Iraqi captivity.
* The release of Kuwaiti civilians taken prisoner.
* The release of information about minefield locations.
* The establishment of a temporary demarcation line between Iraqi and coalition forces roughly following the easternmost leg of the Euphrates River, with allied armies controlling areas south of the river.
Resolution 686
U.N. Security Council Resolution 686, adopted Saturday and accepted by Iraq yesterday, calls for:
* The return of all allied prisoners of war and abducted Kuwaitis.
* The cessation of "hostile or provocative actions."
* Iraq to rescind its annexation of Kuwait.
* Iraq to accept liability under international law for war damages in Kuwait and elsewhere, return all seized Kuwaiti property and help in the rebuilding of Kuwait.
* Iraq to disclose the location of minefields and booby traps.
* The United States and its allies to leave southern Iraq "as soon as possible" when Kuwait is stable and international peace and security are restored.
* A reaffirmation of 12 earlier gulf-related council resolutions passed after Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2. The resolution passed Saturday did not lift economic sanctions against Iraq.
* Giving the allies the right to resume military action against Iraq if it fails to comply with the demands.