US administration ' 'will not be tied to the will of the UN'

US SECRETARY OF STATE Colin Powell has warned that the Bush administration would not be tied to the will of the UN, as the US was taken to task for its draft UN resolution on Iraq, with a majority of Security Council members opposing language which could authorise Washington to launch a war in Baghdad.

Although the US administration has said it expects a swift end to the seven weeks of negotiations, it was clear that staunch opposition from powerful players such as Russia, France and China would mean more time, and possibly more compromise, to win support for the draft.

"We have consistently found that we need more time ... than we originally sought," said Britain's UN Ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock. Britain is a co-sponsor of the US draft resolution.