USA: U.S. AND BRITISH AMBASSADORS TELL THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL THERE WILL BE NO VOTE ON THEIR RESOLUTIONS LAYING THE GROUND WORK FOR WAR WITH IRAQ

Record ID: 645804

  • Title: USA: U.S. AND BRITISH AMBASSADORS TELL THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL THERE WILL BE NO VOTE ON THEIR RESOLUTIONS LAYING THE GROUND WORK FOR WAR WITH IRAQ
  • Date: 13th March 2003
  • Summary: (U7) UNITED NATIONS (FILE) (REUTERS) LAS UNITED NATIONS BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 28th March 2003 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: UNITED NATIONS / NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAF2XXC8ZHVVANE93NC5TO7XVHP
  • Story Text: U.S. and British ambassadors told the U.N. Security Council there would be no vote on their resolution laying the ground work for war with Iraq on Thursday or Friday, diplomats reported.
    But the envoys, reporting from a closed-door council consultation on Iraq, said talks on the draft resolution would probably continue throughout the weekend in hopes for a vote on Monday.
    Britain would be willing to delay an ultimatum for war with Iraq until close to the end of the month should six undecided U.N. Security Council members support a confrontation with President Saddam Hussein.
    But France continues to insist it will use its veto to put the blocks on any draft resolution which automatically authorises the use of force if Iraq is found to be non-compliant with disarmament demands.
    Spanish Ambassador, Inocencio Arias told reporters at the United Nations that the consistent threat of a veto from France was extremely unhelpful. Arias said, "We don't like to act with the veto certainly, its very bad for the United Nations, for the image the world public opinion gets, its very bad."
    The six undecided nations -- Chile, Mexico, Pakistan, Angola, Guinea and Cameroon -- met Britain's U.N. Ambassador, Jeremy Greenstock, at the U.K Mission in a private session to discuss new proposals Britain believes might salvage the resolution.
    The six had originally welcomed the British proposals that would present Saddam with six harsh disarmament tests if he wanted to avoid war. But several questioned whether relatively short deadlines were realistic or only an excuse for war.
    Even while talks appear to be deadlocked, Angola's Ambassador Ismael Gaspar Martins, told reporters they were progressing "We are not standing still, we are moving" he said after the meeting at the U.K Mission.
    Earlier asked whether the so-called "undecided six" were any closer to agreeing to the U.S-U.K-Spanish draft resolution, Gaspar Martins insisted that it is not about which side the undecided countries chose to vote with, but reaching a compromise all sides can agree with. "We want an agreement by the Council, that is what we are seeking, not by a fraction of the Council" he said.
    A session Wednesday evening among all 15 council ambassadors was so contentious that one U.N. council diplomat said there was now only a 50-50 chance any resolution could be salvaged. Diplomats were in another session Thursday afternoon.
    Should the six sign on and a vote be held on Monday, Britain and others would push for the deadline in the current draft U.S.-British-Spanish resolution to be extended from March 17 for 10 days, until about March 27, the envoys said.
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