UNITED NATIONS, Jan 18: Over the objections of most United Nations Security Council members, the United States has expressed reservations to a planned report on Iraq’s disarmament in March that could lead to a suspension of sanctions and delay any military action before that.

Most of the 15 members in the Security Council say that they would not want any delay of the March report which could end up lifting sanctions against Baghdad.

The dispute over the March report stems from the fact that UN inspectors are operating under two separate Security Council resolutions.

The first resolution, adopted in December 1999, created a new inspection agency, headed by Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix, and set out a timetable that could lead to a suspension of sanctions imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The second, adopted on Nov 8 last, gave Iraq a final opportunity to eliminate its nuclear, chemical, biological and long-range missile weapons programmes and threatened “serious consequences” if it did not.

US Ambassador John Negroponte said he did not push for any decision during a Security Council meeting on Thursday, but would raise the issue again after Blix reports to the council Jan 27 on Iraq’s cooperation and the findings of inspectors who resumed work in late November after a four-year absence.

He said outlining the key remaining disarmament tasks that Iraq must complete “could leave the impression that most of the disarmament tasks had already been accomplished,” which is not the view of the Bush administration.

However, France’s UN Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere told the council on Thursday that both resolutions “remain in force” and as long as the council “has taken no decision”, the timetable in the December 1999 resolution should be followed. Britain’s UN Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, chief US ally, said both resolutions “are valid and compliment each other”.

The November resolution is “stronger” and “contains the urgency,” he claimed, adding that “it is up to the inspectors to judge the calibration of the two.”

Nevertheless US contends that Iraq is already in “material breach” of its requirement to disarm and has embarked on a military build-up in the Persian Gulf, hinting at military action if Iraq doesn’t provide new evidence of its nuclear, chemical, biological and long-range missile programmes.