The United Nations Secretary General will leave shortly for Baghdad in a final diplomatic effort to avoid war against Iraq.
Javier Perez de Cuellar is expected to raise the possibility of sending a UN peacekeeping force to Kuwait to oversee the peaceful withdrawal of Iraqi troops.
Saddam Hussein is under UN orders to pull his soldiers out of Kuwait within five days. A Security Council resolution authorises the use of force against Iraq if he fails to comply.
Army longing for a showdown
Talks in Geneva between the Iraqi Foreign minister, Tariq Aziz, and the American Secretary of State, James Baker, broke down yesterday.
After more than six hours of negotiations, Mr Baker said he had heard nothing from the Iraqis to suggest they were preparing to meet the UN deadline.
An official statement from Iraq today said the army was longing for a showdown.
Mr Perez de Cuellar will meet Saddam Hussein in two days' time. UN officials have denied there are any specific peace plans on offer, but a spokesman confirmed there had been some discussion about a peacekeeping force.
The UK Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd, said the time for diplomacy was past: "If Saddam Hussein does stay in Kuwait then he will be attacked... It's not going to be altered one way or the other by little bits and pieces of gestures."
Mr Baker is on his way to Saudi Arabia where he will be discussing plans for war rather than peace. He said: "I think there is still a path for peace, that path leads from Baghdad now and the choice is with the government of Iraq."
Britain's ambassador to Iraq, Harold Walker, has been recalled from Baghdad following the breakdown of yesterday's talks in Geneva.
