U.K., U.S. may allow short delay before war
Straw calls Canadian proposal 'very constructive'
Mar. 6, 2003. 05:37 PM
thestar.com
UNITED NATIONS (CP) - Britain said today it is willing to change the wording of a draft UN resolution for war against Iraq, taking into account "constructive" ideas such as a Canadian compromise to overcome deep divisions in the Security Council.
"There's certainly a possibility of an amendment and that's something we're looking at," British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told a news conference at UN headquarters.
Straw's remarks came after British diplomats floated the idea of attaching a short deadline to the resolution, giving Iraqi President Saddam Hussein a few more days to prove he has destroyed banned weapons or face the prospects of a devastating U.S.-led war.
The reported amendment echoes one element of the Canadian proposal, which would set a deadline and a series of benchmarks for Saddam to prove he is complying with UN demands to eliminate banned weapons. But the deadline suggested by Canada, March 28, is apparently much later than the one being considered by the British.
Asked whether a variant of the Canadian idea is being considered, Straw said only that Britain is ready to "take on board any constructive suggestions as to how the process set out in that draft resolution could be improved."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair had spoken by phone with Prime Minister Jean Chrétien about Iraq in recent weeks. Straw said he thought "it's a very constructive proposal from the Canadian prime minister, and I talked at some lengths to Bill Graham, the Canadian foreign minister."
He declined to go into details, "but what we have to do is look at all the constructive suggestions that come forward, see how they can be distilled, but also how they take account of the realities of the situation as well."
In Ottawa, the Prime Minister's Office called Straw's comment "very positive."
PMO spokeswoman Frederique Tsai said Straw spoke with Graham on Monday about the Canadian proposal, "and if the Canadians' ideas are used by the Security (Council) members, well, that's great ... If not, well, we've put our ideas forward. It's really out of our hands at this point."
Canada is not currently a member of the Security Council.
Last November, the council ordered Iraq to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction in Resolution 1441. In recent weeks, Britain, the United States and Spain drafted a second resolution saying Iraq has failed to disarm, opening the way for military action to force it to do so.
But this resolution is facing opposition from France, Russia and Germany, which stated they would block any UN authorization for military action. On Thursday, China endorsed their position.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin told French President Jacques Chirac that a new UN resolution was not necessary and that he supports using "political means" to solve the crisis. "The door of peace should not be closed," Jiang was quoted as saying.
Despite intense lobbying, the United States has been unable to muster the nine votes required to adopt a resolution approving war, with key swing states - Guinea, Angola, Cameroon, Mexico, Pakistan and Chile - unwilling to commit to the U.S.-British position.
Changing the wording of the draft resolution may help, provided no one vetoes it. Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States are the permanent members with veto powers.
U.S. diplomats have signalled a willingness to hear suggestions on the wording so long as there are no changes to the substance of the draft. Straw also stressed that the original intent of the resolution would not change.
Straw was the first arrival among 11 foreign ministers, including U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who were headed to New York to attend a Security Council meeting Friday.
Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix and his atomic energy counterpart, Mohamed ElBaradei, will brief members on Iraqi co-operation with inspections and disarmament. For many council members, Friday's reports will be key in deciding whether to vote for the U.S.-British resolution.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan appealed to arriving foreign ministers to discuss the Iraq crisis calmly.
"The positions are very hard now. I am encouraging people to strive for a compromise to seek common ground," he said.
While Washington and London believe they already have the authority from previous resolutions to wage war against Iraq, new UN support would mean international legitimacy and the chance to share the costs of humanitarian relief and reconstruction.
But with the United States and Britain ready to mount military action, even the United Nations was preparing for the possibility of war.
Annan's spokesman, Fred Eckhard, said the United Nations had asked Washington for as much notice as possible should a military campaign be ordered so that UN staff working in Iraq can be evacuated. |
