February 5, 2003	Wednesday	Zul Hijjah 3,1423

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LE TOUQUET (France), Feb 4: British Prime Minister Tony Blair failed to win French backing for an early war at a summit on Tuesday which laid bare the diplomatic divide between Paris and London.

When asked following the summit whether Paris would veto a UN resolution authorizing the use of force against Baghdad, French President Jacques Chirac said: “We will decide when the time comes and given the circumstances.”

“War is always the worst of solutions,” Chirac told the joint press conference. “We think there is still a lot to be done on the issue of disarmament through peaceful means.”

Mr Chirac insisted UN arms inspectors should be given all the time and resources needed to disarm Iraq peacefully, reaffirming the French view that “war is the worst of all options”.

“There is still a lot that can and needs to be done on disarmament through peaceful means,” Mr Chirac, whose country holds a veto in the UN Security Council, told a joint news conference.

“We will only adopt a position when we believe nothing further can be achieved there — and we are a long way off that,” he said, refusing to agree with Washington and London that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has just weeks to disarm or face war.

In stark contrast, Mr Blair put repeated emphasis on the timing of a Feb 14 report by UN arms inspectors that will follow Wednesday’s presentation by US Secretary of State Colin Powell of alleged proof that Baghdad is hiding banned weapons.

“We will make our judgments then,” Blair, standing next to Chirac, said of the Feb 14 report. When pressed again, he said: “We should take account of that very carefully.”

The summit comes days before what could be a key visit to France next week by Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country is another Security Council veto-holder with deep misgivings over war.

NO MAGIC WAND: The French president appeared to rule out speculation that Paris would fall in behind Washington and London soon.

“We have different approaches...You can’t wave a magic wand for them to disappear overnight,” he said.

One British official denied on the margins of the summit that the prime minister, who has just returned from Washington from talks with US President George Bush, was setting a deadline for war by focusing on Feb 14.

Both have said President Saddam has weeks, and not months, to disarm and have reserved the right to attack without a fresh mandate from the security council.

Mr Blair admitted there were differences with France, but said they agreed that disarming Iraq was “best pursued” through the United Nations. Mr Chirac, more firmly, said it had to be undertaken within the security council.

Paris has also resisted the conclusion of Washington and London that inspectors’ reports already show Baghdad in “material breach” of a UN disarmament resolution, a view which potentially paves the way for war.

Efforts by France and Germany to form an anti-war axis were undermined last week when other European leaders, including the British premier, signed a letter declaring their support for the US position, sparking speculation Chirac might jump ship.

—Reuters