- UNITED NATIONS/MOSCOW (Reuters)
- A revised U.S. draft resolution for Iraqi disarmament met fresh resistance
on Tuesday from Russia, one of five nations with veto power on the United
Nations Security Council.
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- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov was quoted as saying
that the proposed resolution on Iraq did not meet the minimum requirements
on the issue aimed at ridding Baghdad of weapons of mass destruction.
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- "The American draft resolution, which was presented
yesterday, does not, for the moment, meet the criteria which the Russian
side had previously outlined and stands by now," Ivanov told the Interfax
news agency.
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- The new draft, obtained by Reuters, holds open the threat
of force by declaring Iraq in "material breach" of U.N. resolutions
as well as warning Iraq of "serious consequences" if it does
not comply.
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- These provisions are among the objections of Russia as
well as France, who believe they provide a backdoor trigger for the United
States to launch an attack without waiting for U.N. weapons inspectors
to verify any Iraqi violations.
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- Ivanov said he had discussed the contents of the resolution
with both Secretary of State Colin Powell and French Foreign Minister Dominique
de Villepin.
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- "We have indeed just received a revised text from
the Americans and we are examining it with the aim of reaching an overall
balance which is acceptable to all parties," de Villepin told reporters
in Luxembourg. "Some progress is still needed and so we have much
work to do," Villepin said.
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- But French diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity,
said they thought the latest U.S. effort was not enough to win widespread
support.
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- The State Department said Secretary of State Colin Powell
had telephoned Ivanov, Villepin as well as British Foreign Minister Jack
Straw to discuss the draft.
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- But the White House said its patience was limited.
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- "We will continue to work in the United Nations,"
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer as President Bush traveled to Pennsylvania.
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- "It is coming down to the end. The United Nations
does not have forever, and we'll continue to work it and see when we get
an agreement, if we get an agreement, how to proceed."
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- WALL OF OPPOSITION
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- In an effort to get support, the United States met for
the second consecutive day in New York with ambassadors from the four other
veto-bearing council members -- Russia, France, Britain and China -- before
formally introducing its draft resolution to the full 15-member council.
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- Washington has met a wall of opposition for threatening
to attack Iraq -- with or without U.N. support -- and for seeking a "regime
change" in Baghdad. It says Iraq has amassed an arsenal of weapons
of mass destruction and threatens world security, a charge Baghdad denies.
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- The U.S. draft calls for a two-stage procedure by having
U.N. chief weapons inspectors report to the council any violations, possibly
pushing back any U.S. military action against Iraq.
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- Russia and France at that stage want a second resolution
but the United States, while allowing for council discussions, will not
commit itself to a second vote.
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- The U.S. proposals also establish a timetable Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein, who has to accept the resolution in seven days and to list
the weapons Iraq posses within 30 days.
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- The inspectors then have a maximum 45 days to get back
to Iraq and must report to the council within 60 days. But they are obligated
to report sooner any possible Iraqi violations.
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- Turkey, which has allowed U.S. use of an air base to
patrol "no-fly" zones in Iraq and is seen as a key player in
any U.S.-led attack on Baghdad, criticized Washington for sending conflicting
messages.
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- "On the one hand they are continuously giving an
impression of a military action. On the other hand they are saying, 'An
intervention may not happen, we have not yet made a decision," said
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.
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- "President Bush and the U.S. administration should
make their decision immediately and this uncertainty should be eliminated."
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- FRESH AIR STRIKES
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- U.S. and British warplanes, meanwhile, attacked Iraqi
air defenses in their self-declared a northern "no-fly" zone
Tuesday after Iraqi forces fired on patrolling jets, the U.S. military
said.
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- It was the latest in a stepped-up air campaign in Iraq
involving British and U.S. fighter jets.
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- Iraq said its 22 million people were ready to defend
every inch of Iraq.
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- "Our enemies will see how fierce the Iraqi people
would fight to defend their country and dignity," the head of the
Presidential Office, Ahmed Hussein Khudayyir, said in remarks published
by the local press.
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- He was interviewed on Saddam's decision to release tens
of thousands of political prisoners in an unprecedented amnesty. The surprise
move was seen as an attempt to rally Iraqis behind his leadership against
a possible U.S. attack.
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- U.S. officials said the Pentagon had postponed a military
exercise planned for November in Qatar, a possible launch pad for a U.S.
attack on Iraq, by one or two weeks to allow time for equipment to arrive.
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