US steps up pressure on Iraq resolution

UNITED NATIONS -- Facing opposition from France and Russia, the United States stepped up pressure on the U.N. Security Council Wednesday by scheduling the first round of full council consultations on a tough new draft resolution on Iraq.\nWhile the five permanent council members--the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China-- met again to discuss the new draft, the White House said it wanted to complete negotiations quickly.\nTalks about a resolution have reached their "final moments" and are down to the nitty gritty of precise wording, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said.\n"The end is coming into sight. It is not there yet, but it is coming into sight. The end is either an agreement or a failure to reach agreement. It could be either one right now," he said.\nPhilip Reeker, a State Department spokesman, said the process could be "moving into a final stage," adding "This is an opportunity for the U.N. to show its relevance."\nU.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said full consultations with the 15 Security Council members had been scheduled for late Wednesday. But no decision had been made yet on whether to formally submit the U.S. draft resolution, which outlines a tough new inspection regime coupled with a threat of force if Iraq fails to comply.\n"Whether we'll formally table a resolution or discuss its content, we haven't finally decided that--but yes, there will be consultations with the 15 this afternoon," Negroponte said.\nThe White House push for speedy action was delivered less than 24 hours after Negroponte said the negotiating process needed "a little bit of time" and State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said he expected negotiations to be "complicated" and "messy."\nComing out of a two-hour meeting Wednesday with the other four permanent council members, Negroponte again said that with "an issue as complex and as complicated as this one, it's not unusual for discussions to take a while."\nHe also indicated the United States still hadn't won support from Russia and France. China has been supporting their stand.\n"This is a work in progress, it's an ongoing discussion. It's going to keep on going, I think with a commitment to try and reach … a consensus between the five if it's possible to do that. And yes, I would anticipate these talks would continue. They're not near conclusion at this point," Negroponte said.\nThe United States has been discussing a new resolution with the five veto-holding council members since early October. Wednesday will be the first time the draft is given to the 10 elected council members, who vote on resolutions, but don't have veto power.\nFor a resolution to pass, it needs nine "yes" votes in the council and no veto by a permanent member.\nThe United States and Britain have been at odds with France, Russia and China over how tough a new resolution should be.\nWashington, backed by London, is pushing a single resolution that would allow force to be used against Iraq if it doesn't meet its U.N. disarmament obligations.\nBut Paris, Moscow and Beijing still want a two-stage approach giving Iraq another chance to comply with U.N. weapons inspectors and only authorizing force in a second resolution if Baghdad obstructed inspections.\nOn Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry official Mikhail Bogdanov was quoted by the ITAR-Tass news agency as saying that the U.S. draft "practically left out the elements of automatic use of force. But there are other provisions which, in our view, are very hard for Iraqis to accept, the more so because they contradict earlier U.N. Security Council resolutions."\nIn Amman, Jordan, Iraq's Culture Minister Hamed Yousef Hamadi called the U.S. draft a "declaration of war."\nThe issue of a new resolution has been at the United Nations since President Bush addressed the General Assembly on Sept. 12 and warned that if the Security Council didn't act decisively to disarm Saddam Hussein, the United States would take action on its own.\nOne of the major problems for Russia and France has been language in the U.S. proposal that could be interpreted as triggering military action.\nThe draft includes two references to Iraq being in "material breach" for violating U.N. resolutions, a phrase that some legal experts say could open the door for military action.\nThe U.S. draft also recalls Security Council warnings that Iraq would face "serious consequences," as a result of its continued violations of its obligations.\nThe American plan also demands that Iraq accept the resolution within seven days of its adoption and declare its programs to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missiles within 30 days. Inspectors would then have up to 45 days to resume inspections.\nInspectors must certify that Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs have been destroyed before sanctions imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait can be lifted.