Foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, tomorrow when intense negotiations are likely on various issues, including the latest French suggestion for lifting of oil sale sanctions against Iraq.

The meeting, third in two weeks, will be presided over by United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreign minister Rashid Abdullah, UAE news agency Wam said.

Even as the preparations for tomorrow's meeting were on, Iraq announced that it was ready for a `balanced dialogue' to solve its impasse with the US and Britain.

``Iraq sees a need for a balanced dialogue based on good intentions under the umbrella of the Arab nation to find practical solutions to the situations,'' an Iraqi spokesman was quoted as saying by the official Iraqi newspapers today.

He added that ``if solutions are desired in a serious manner that serve the Arab nation's interest, they should be based on pan-Arab security.''

The GCC meeting comes ahead of a larger conclave of Arab league foreign ministers in Cairo on January 24 in which 17 of its 22 members have officially consented to take part.

Arab league said UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar were among the nations who have already agreed to attend while Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, both GCC members, were expected to participate in the Cairo meeting.

Iraq has not announced its decision.

France has proposed a watered-down UN inspections regime under which sanctions could be removed gradually in return for access to well-known Iraqi weapons sites.

The proposal, circulated among permanent members of the UN Security Council yesterday, proposes a far less intrusive inspections regime than the present one, which would be linked to destruction of Iraq's awesome war machinery.

The five permanent members huddled over the plan for over an hour last night to consider the proposal which is expected to be formally presented to the council in a day or two.

The plan, presented at the closed door meeting, by French ambassador Alain Dejammet, covers earlier French moves to break the US-Iraq standoff that culminated in last month's Anglo-US airstrikes on Baghdad.

The French proposal reduces the significance of a Saudi proposal on easing of sanctions.

Iraq has been silent on the French suggestion.