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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas M. who wrote (14515)	3/13/2003 2:37:30 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

France aims to break Iraq deadlock Story from BBC NEWS France says it is willing to set a series of disarmament "benchmarks" for Iraq, but speculation has continued to mount that military action will be launched without a UN vote. US and UK officials say that negotiations on a new UN resolution against Iraq could continue into next week, but both Washington and London clearly indicated on Thursday that the Security Council may be bypassed. It has been suggested that there is little point in seeking UN backing when France has made clear it will wield the veto it holds as a permanent member of the Security Council against any motion threatening war. "We are prepared to move forward in the search for a solution, and we are in constant contact with all of our partners in the UN Security Council," Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said. He said the aim was "to try, within the logic of the inspectors' work, to determine both a work programme with benchmarks, with criteria, and a realistic and reasonable timeframe, that will allow forward movement on the path of peaceful disarmament of Iraq." But it remains highly unlikely that the French would accept any tests which, like the British proposal, involved the immediate threat of war - a position which Washington dismisses as "illogical". "If you reject the logic of ultimatum then you are saying Saddam has forever to disarm," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer shortly after the French statement. "France seems to think Saddam will disarm on his own. The United States and many other countries do not agree." Iraq will present a report on its disposal of VX nerve agent on Friday and on anthrax in a few days, an Iraqi diplomat says. The US has consistently made clear that it is prepared to go to war without explicit UN backing, but its ally, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, has been keen to get a second resolution. However, on Thursday Mr Blair - who faces deep domestic opposition to war - said that the resolution appeared now "less likely than at any time", and war was getting closer. We are prepared to move forward in the search for a solution, and we are in constant contact with all of our partners in the UN Security Council Dominique de Villepin French Foreign Minister In Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell told Congress that even though negotiations were continuing, the US might not go for a vote at the Security Council. "We are still talking to the members of the Council with respect to coalescing around a position that wouldn't draw a veto, but the options remain: go for a vote and see what members say, or not go for a vote," Mr Powell said. Mr Blair had hoped that a plan of setting Saddam six tests which he could fulfil to avert war would make a resolution more palatable to undecided members of the Security Council. Paris rejected the ultimatum in the plan, and other Security Council members have given it a lukewarm reception. 'Moral victory' Russia insisted it would veto any resolution which paved the way for military intervention in Iraq, but appeared to leave space for compromise. Speaking on Thursday, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov said Iraq would need a "certain amount of time" to meet the tests presented by Britain. According to the BBC's UN correspondent Greg Barrow, privately many diplomats say that discussions in the corridors are less about disarming Iraq and more about saving Mr Blair's skin. Even if a resolution is vetoed, analysts say the US and UK could still claim a moral victory if nine of the 15 council members back its resolution. But there is no guarantee of this at present. White House officials are meanwhile reported to be gearing up for a presidential address - possibly as early as this weekend - preparing the nation for war. The speech is said to be likely to include an ultimatum for Saddam Hussein, giving him a date after which military action could be launched. This would allow weapons inspectors and humanitarian workers to leave Iraq before hostilities start. The UN has already evacuated all of its observers from the Iraqi side of the demilitarised zone with Kuwait. And the US has deployed B-2 stealth bombers for the first time. The bombers have been used in combat before, but only flying sorties from their base in the United States. The spokeswoman did not say where the planes would be based. Story from BBC NEWS: news.bbc.co.uk Published: 2003/03/13 18:56:23 © BBC MMIII