French President Jacques Chirac insisted in an interview released Sunday that continued UN arms inspections were the best way to resolve the crisis in Iraq, but admitted that disarmament would not be possible without the threat of US military action.

Chirac also suggested in the interview with Time magazine, due to hit newsstands on Monday, that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein could do his country and the world "the biggest favor" by leaving power.

"If we disarm Iraq, the goal set by the Americans will have been fulfilled. And if we do that, there can be no doubt that it will be due in large part to the presence of American forces on the spot," Chirac said.

"If there hadn't been US soldiers present, Saddam might not have agreed to play the game," he added, according to a transcript of the interview released Sunday.

France has staunchly opposed US calls for war against Iraq, instead proposing that United Nations weapons inspections be stepped up with more experts on the ground and the deployment of spy planes for surveillance.

"A majority of world leaders share our determination to search for a peaceful solution to disarming Iraq," Chirac told Time. "We have to give the inspectors time" to do their jobs, he added.

Paris's disarmament initiative -- backed by Germany and Russia -- has soured transatlantic relations, with US lawmakers lashing out at Paris and a backlash of anti-French sentiment in the US media.

But Chirac vehemently denied accusations of being anti-American, calling France a "true friend of the United States" and recalling the time he had spent working and travelling in the United States.

"I've always worked and supported transatlantic solidarity. When I hear people say that I'm anti-American, I'm sad -- not angry, but really sad," the French leader said.

As proof of his solidarity, the French president called on Saddam to leave office, saying: "If Saddam Hussein would only vanish, it would without a doubt be the biggest favor he could do for his people and for the world."
Chirac stressed that Paris and Washington also were in total agreement that Iraq needed to be stripped of weapons of mass destruction, but added: "We think this goal can be reached without starting a war."
Chirac said that while he did not think Iraq had nuclear weapons, it was "probable" that it possessed other weapons of mass destruction, urging that UN inspectors be given the proper time to find and destroy them.

But he did not rule out future military action against Baghdad, explaining that Paris was not pacifist by nature and that "France would naturally exclude no option" if inspectors said Iraq had failed to cooperate.

He said that for the time being, a second UN Security Council resolution on Iraq was unnecessary, saying there was more to be done within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 1441.

Adopted on November 8, the resolution gave Iraq one week to comply with weapons inspectors and a final opportunity to surrender its alleged weapons of mass destruction or face "serious consequences."
Earlier, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said a report delivered Friday to the Security Council by top UN arms inspector Hans Blix and International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei proved the inspections process was working.

"All this is going the way that we would like but it's still not enough. We must persevere until we effectively disarm Iraq," he told French paper Le Journal du Dimanche.

Despite the massive build-up of US troops in the Gulf, Chirac said US President George W. Bush could still pull back from the brink of war and later claim credit for resolving the crisis without bloodshed.

"If Iraq is stripped of its weapons of mass destruction and that's been verified by the inspectors, then Mr Bush can say two things: first, 'Thanks to my intervention, Iraq has been disarmed,' and second, 'I achieved all this wihout spilling any blood.' "In the life of a statesman, that counts -- no blood spilled," Chirac said -Sapa-AFP