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U.S. Dealt Setback on Iraq
Wednesday, October 23, 2002
By Edith M. Lederer
Associated Press Writer

France, backed by Russia and China, wants to give Iraq another chance to meet UN disarmament obligations. It favors a two-stage approach that would give Iraq a chance to comply and only authorize force in a second resolution if Baghdad obstructed inspections.

UNITED NATIONS -- AP
In a troubling sign for U.S. efforts to push a tough new Iraq resolution through the Security Council, Russia and France said Tuesday they weren't satisfied with a revised draft that warns Baghdad of “serious consequences” if it fails to cooperate with weapons inspections.

The five permanent council members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- discussed the new U.S. text for the first time at a three-hour meeting on Tuesday, with Paris and Moscow concerned the draft could be used by Washington to launch an attack on Iraq. The five veto-wielding members met again for over an hour Tuesday afternoon.

“The American draft resolution ... does not answer the criteria which the Russian side laid out earlier and which it confirms today,” Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said after meeting Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector, in Moscow.

France also expressed disappointment with the latest U.S. offer.

“There is still a lot of work to do,” French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said. “There are some points that need to be discussed among us before we have an accord.”

A senior Chinese diplomat at the United Nations, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “It's a pity there are no substantive changes from the previous text.”
(More: The Chicago Sun-Times News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

The new U.S. proposal, drafted with British support, is a single resolution that Washington says will allow the use of force if Saddam Hussein fails to cooperate. It includes phrases that could be interpreted as triggering military action, wording that has raised disagreement from the French and Russians.

Maybe ROW don’t like “power-words”? I can understand this.

Dan