NEW YORK-MADRID: Britain’s diplomatic efforts to win UN Security Council support for its Iraq strategy lay in disarray as leaked documents from participants in the behind-closed-doors discussion of recent days showed growing tensions with its US and Spanish allies.
The British attempts to win backing from undecided countries on the security council and bridge the gap between France and America had failed to bear fruit last night.
British concessions on its “compromise” proposal met with American impatience, French and Russian intransigence, and growing skepticism from the “middle six” nations as talks were set to carry on over the weekend. Leaked memos from the Spanish UN ambassador Inocencio Arias to his foreign minister, Ana Palacio, showed that the US had prevented Britain from watering down the proposed ultimatums to Saddam Hussein.
Mr Arias himself said Britain was becoming “nervous” and “exclusively obsessed” with domestic public opinion. The Spanish ambassador complained Britain had reneged on an agreement to keep the details secret.
“Today, just when the three co-proposers here agreed that we would not reveal any of the points ... Mr Straw’s textual explanations reach me on the internet,” Mr Arias complained.
Mr Arias’s memos, passed to the Guardian newspaper by the Spanish Cadena Ser radio station, revealed the enormous tension at the security council meeting. Chile proposed a new plan with a three-week deadline for Saddam Hussein to meet conditions for disarming. It was rejected immediately by the White House.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service
