UN Security Council divide grows wider

THE divide between permanent members of the UN Security Council over the looming war with Iraq grew ever wider yesterday.

While Britain prepared a resolution authorising the use of force against Iraq and President Bush urged the Security Council to “make up its mind soon”, Russia and France were pulling in the opposite direction.

The French ambassador to the UN Jean-David Levitte said 10 to 11 Security Council members want to extend weapons’ inspections in Iraq. “Let’s have the inspectors do their job,” Jean-David Levitte said. “Saddam is in his box and the box is now closed with the inspections.”

France, which has the power to kill any resolution with a veto, leaves open the use of force as an ultimate option, though, and will not decide on a position until after UN weapons inspectors report to the Council on February 14, he said.

French President Jacques Chirac made it plain he does not agree with Bush that time has run out for Saddam to come clean. “An alternative to war still exists,” Chirac said. “The decision to resort to war cannot be made lightly.”

He rang Bush yesterday and told him: “We can disarm Saddam Hussein without going to war.”

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Moscow opposes a resolution authorising force. Germany, which is chairing the Security Council this month, also wants the inspectors to be given more time to work.

President Bush is becoming increasingly disgruntled with UN diplomacy.

He said in the White House yesterday: “If the Security Council were to allow a dictator to lie and deceive, the Security Council will be weak.”

Despite continued resistance from veto-wielding members of the Security Council, Britain may introduce a new UN resolution authorising the use of force against Iraq.

A British diplomat said the resolution would not be introduced for at least 10 days so the Security Council can hear from top weapons inspectors who will report to the body on February 14.

A new resolution would have to authorise the use of force, the British diplomat said, but other questions would have to be negotiated, such as whether to include an ultimatum or deadline for Saddam to completely eliminate nuclear, chemical, biological and long-range missile programmes.

Top weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed El Baradei were in Vienna yesterday preparing for their weekend trip to Baghdad to press the Iraqis to fully co-operate and provide evidence about their weapons of mass destruction.

Blix said an Iraqi scientist’s decision to be interviewed by inspectors on Thursday night without the presence of a minder suggests that Baghdad “is making an effort” to co-operate.