France, Russia and Germany issued a joint declaration Saturday, denouncing U.S. plans for a war on Iraq and proposing a foreign ministers session at the UN Security Council.

The three nations want foreign ministers to discuss a "realistic" timetable for Saddam Hussein to disarm.

A foreign ministers session on Tuesday would follow another progress report by chief weapons inspector Hans Blix.

"We reaffirm that nothing justifies in the present circumstances putting a stop to the inspection process and resorting to the use of force," said the declaration, issued by the Foreign Ministry in Paris.

The joint declaration came on the eve of U.S. President George Bush's Azores Islands emergency summit on Iraq with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Jose Maria Aznar of Spain.

Also Saturday, Iraq invited chief UN weapons inspectors to Baghdad to discuss outstanding disarmament issues.

At UN headquarters in New York, Blix said he would study the invitation and discuss it with the council.

A U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity said Blix "would be wise to wait until after the summit before making any determination about going to Baghdad."

In other developments, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said his forces will retaliate if Saddam Hussein attacks the Jewish state in response to a U.S.-led strike on Iraq.

In 1991, Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles at Israeli cities, causing heavy damage but few casualties. During the first Gulf War the United States prevented Israel from retaliating, fearing such a response would pull apart an Arab-backed coalition it set up to fight Baghdad.

This time, however, President Bush is not relying on Arab support to achieve his stated goal of disarming and ousting Saddam, and Israel has made clear it will not sit idle if it is again attacked.

Also, Iraq said that five of eight helicopters used by UN weapons inspectors left the country Sunday after an insurance company suspended coverage for the aircraft as the threat of war looms in the region.