October 5, 2003	Sunday	Sha’aban 8, 1424

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ROME, Oct 4: French President Jacques Chirac on Saturday expressed disappointment over a draft UN resolution on the future of Iraq circulated by the United States.

“I won’t hide from you that it was a bit of a disappointment for us ... there is fairly little progress,” Chirac told a news conference at a European Union summit in Rome about the amended US draft, which UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Russian President Vladimir Putin have also criticised.

President Chirac said France was willing to continue Security Council discussions in close cooperation with Russia and Germany. Paris has said it will not veto the text but might abstain. On Friday, President Vladimir Putin said Russia was not satisfied with the latest US draft resolution on a UN role in Iraq, although it was prepared to help in seeking a compromise between Washington and its opponents on the Security Council.—Agencies