US lobbies UN as Iraq decries war declaration
( 2002-10-25 10:02 ) (7 )

The United States lobbied UN Security Council members to pass its draft resolution against Iraq on Thursday but Baghdad urged the world body to reject what it said was akin to a declaration of war.

Russia and France, who hold vetoes in the council, believe the US text that has been negotiated for weeks to disarm Iraq still has "triggers" for military action, and worked to obtain more concessions from Washington, diplomats said.

Impatient at weeks of inconclusive talks, the Bush administration introduced to the 15-member council on Wednesday a tough draft resolution, which Britain has said it will co-sponsor. It spells out how Iraq should account for its alleged weapons of mass destruction, with some US officials expecting a vote as early as next week.

President George W. Bush repeated his warning to the United Nations he would act without its consent if he believed it necessary to eliminate the threat he says Iraq's weapons programs pose to the United States and its allies.

"If the United Nations won't act, if they're feeble in their responsibility, and if (President) Saddam Hussein will not disarm, the United States will lead a coalition in the name of peace to disarm Saddam Hussein," he told a North Carolina political rally.

Iraq said the US draft was like a declaration of war on both Baghdad and the United Nations.

"The United States wants to create justifications for attacking Iraq with a new resolution and this draft resolution presented by the United States, which it amended for the worse, is an insult to the United Nations and the international community," Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri told Qatar's al-Jazeera television.

"This draft resolution is a flagrant violation of the United Nations and akin to war against the United Nations.

US and British officials stress that the UN arms inspectors are being given a chance to do their work, and if successful, the threat of war would subside.

"The text itself, the substance of it, is intended very clearly to be a last chance offer for Iraq," British Ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock said. "It's a genuine offer: take the inspections process seriously."

Iraq has said UN inspectors -- who left in 1998 on the eve of a US-British bombing raid -- can return but denies having nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.

But in a sign Baghdad is possibly preparing for an attack, Croatian officials said a ship the Balkan nation seized at sea this week was bound for Iraq from Yugoslavia carrying what appeared to be material used in the ignition of Scud missiles.

Iraq fired 39 of the medium-range missiles at Israel and allied Gulf states during the 1991 Gulf War, when the United States led a force to drive invading Iraqi troops from Kuwait.

POWELL ON THE OFFENSIVE

US Secretary of State Colin Powell lobbied Security Council member Singapore for support for the draft resolution.

"We are looking forward to your support," Powell told Lee Yock Suan, Singapore's second minister for foreign affairs, a senior US official said. They met on the sidelines of an Asian economic meeting in Mexico.

"The Singaporeans said they were studying it very carefully and would work with us in New York," the official said.

Singapore is one of the 10 elected and non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, which also has five permanent members with veto power.

To be adopted, a Security Council resolution needs nine votes in favour and no veto from any of its five permanent members, the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.

Powell took centre stage as foreign and trade ministers from the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation group met. He held separate talks with the Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov after earlier lobbying Mexico, which is also wavering on supporting the resolution of its neighbour and close ally.

Russia again on Thursday criticized the US text and hoped council members would insist on major changes.

"A new resolution must be directed at supporting the work of inspectors in Iraq, and not to name new unrealistic and unfulfillable demands," Yuri Fedotov, the deputy foreign minister, told Interfax news agency in Moscow.

France also reiterated its misgivings over the draft, saying there was still much work to be done for a consensus to be reached at the United Nations.

"Progress has been made over the last few days ... but we still need a certain number of clarifications," Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told a news conference. "So there is still work to be done in New York."

France wants the council to pass a first resolution demanding the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq with access to all sites and then -- if Iraq does not cooperate -- a second resolution to decide on an appropriate response.

China, which also holds a veto, reserved judgment on the new draft on Thursday, the day before Chinese President Jiang Zemin's meeting with Bush at his ranch in Texas. Bush is likely to seek China's acquiescence for possible military action.

While diplomats debated the resolution, anti-war groups said they were lobbying UN Security Council members, using e-mail chains and the Internet to flood them with calls and faxes urging them to oppose military action against Iraq.

"Diplomats will tell you they have been deluged with phone calls," Medea Benjamin of Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based human rights group, said.