Faced with veto, Iraq vote may be put back

But with the Security Council beginning an open debate on the crisis on Tuesday, diplomats said the US and Britain were prepared to put back any vote, possibly until Thursday or later. ‘‘We are in the thick of diplomacy,’’ White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said, suggesting Bush may still be open to amendments to the resolution.

In a sign of opposition, a US diplomat resigned from government service on Monday. John H. Brown was the second US diplomat to resign in a month.

French President Jacques Chirac raised the stakes in Paris on Monday, saying France would veto the resolution. ‘‘France will vote ‘No’ because she considers that there is no reason to wage a war to reach the goal we set ourselves, that is the disarmament of Iraq,’’ Chirac said in a television interview.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov also said Moscow would vote against any resolution authorising war. The US hopes to line up nine votes in the 15-member Security Council to claim moral legitimacy for its ultimatum even if the resolution is killed by a veto.

Washington can count on only four votes — its own and those of Britain, Spain and Bulgaria. France, Russia, China, Germany and Syria oppose a war. Fleischer said Washington was exploring ways of changing the text to win more support, including setting disarmament goals, or benchmarks, for Iraq to achieve within an agreed time.

‘‘Some nations have suggested such things as benchmarks. Ideas are being explored and looked at and so it is too soon to say what the final document that will be voted on will include,’’ Fleischer said. (Reuters)