The US wants The UN Security Council to adopt by Friday a resolution that gives Iraq a last chance to disarm or face war, but France and Russia still have objections.The third and latest draft of the resolution, the result of eight weeks of negotiations, was formally presented to Council members on Wednesday.US Ambassador John Negroponte said he wanted a vote on Friday. Secretary of State Colin Powell, the key negotiator on the resolution, cancelled a trip to South Korea next week so he could deal with any last minute hitch.France and Russia held back their endorsement, despite concessions in the revised US-British text that would give the Security Council a limited role in determining whether war can be waged against Iraq.French President Jacques Chirac’s spokeswoman, Catherine Colonna, said in Paris on Wednesday that the President and Russian President Vladimir Putin believed that ‘‘certain ambiguities needed to be cleared up’’ on the use of force.Diplomats said French, Russian and Chinese envoys at Wednesday’s council session questioned wording that might allow the US, rather than UN arms inspectors, to judge violations by Iraq that could trigger war.But China’s public statements were conciliatory. ‘‘On the whole, we believe the new US proposals have taken into account and considered the worries and concerns of some of us,’’ Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said in Beijing.France, which led resistance to the resolution, had argued against ‘‘hidden triggers’’ that would give the US the right to attack Iraq, overthrow President Saddam Hussein and then claim the UN had authorised it.The resolution now calls for a new round of Security Council deliberations if Iraq fails to comply with UN arms inspections, a concession to France. The council could then adopt another resolution authorising force but is this is not a requirement, thereby leaving the US free to attack.‘‘The resolution makes very clear that this is a final opportunity for Iraq to disarm,’’ State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. The document declares Iraq in ‘‘material breach’’ of its disarmament obligations, a term that has been invoked by the US to allow a military strike. It says Iraq has ‘‘a final opportunity’’ to scrap its weapons of mass destruction and threatens ‘‘serious consequences.’’Diplomats said France, Russia and China were concerned about paragraph four of the measure that would declare Iraq in ‘‘further material breach’’ if Baghdad submits ‘‘false statements or omissions’’ and refuses to comply with the UN weapons inspectors.But new language in paragraph four, which may be amended, appears to allow the US to report Iraqi violations to the council if the inspectors fail to do so. (Reuters)
