Washington has conveyed to New Delhi that it will be examining the possibility of a fresh UN Security Council resolution with a broader mandate. India had decided not to send troops to Iraq as part of a Stabilisation Force saying it would consider any such move only if there was an ‘‘explicit UN mandate’’.US Secretary of State Colin Powell informed External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha of the possibility of a fresh UNSC resolution during a 25-minute telephonic conversation on Monday night.According to an MEA spokesperson, Powell told Sinha that Washington will look at the possibility of a fresh resolution in the UN after the round of presentations slated for today by the UN Special Representative in Iraq. ‘‘After presentations by the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative in Iraq Sergio de Mello and Kofi Annan in the Security Council today, the US will look at the possibility of a new UNSC resolution with a broader UN mandate,’’ the spokesman said.This apart, Powell briefed Sinha on the recent developments in North Korea and the West Asia peace process. The spokesman said the two leaders also discussed recent events in India-Pakistan relations and were in agreement on a measured and step-by-step process to take forward Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee’s peace initiative.
