October 23, 2002	Wednesday	Sha’aban 16,1423

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UNITED NATIONS, Oct 22: Russia and France on Tuesday rejected the latest US draft resolution on Iraq when the UN Security Council resumed talks on ensuring Baghdad does not develop weapons of mass destruction.

“The US resolution project... so far does not correspond to the criteria (for a settlement of the Iraqi crisis) which Russia has put forward and by which it stands,” Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said in Moscow.

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said “progress is still needed and we therefore still have much work to do”.

Washington stepped up pressure on the Security Council, warning that the UN “does not have forever” to approve a new resolution aimed at disarming Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

“The United Nations is entering the final stages on this, and we would like to see an agreement reached,” said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell also pressed Ivanov on the need for the Security Council to resolve differences quickly over the proposed new resolution, a State Department official said.

In addition to Ivanov, Powell spoke to British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and UN chief Kofi Annan about the revised text, the official said.

The United States has along with Britain been pressing for a resolution that will trigger an automatic military response if Baghdad fails to disarm.

France and Russia have been insisting that Washington must seek UN authority to use force only if Iraq is found to be in violation of UN demands to disarm.

The revised US resolution allows, but does not require, the Security Council to revisit the idea of using force if and when weapons inspectors report that Baghdad is not in compliance with UN demands to disarm, US officials have said.—AFP