France 'will submit Iraq proposal if no accord on US draft'

France will formally submit its own resolution on Iraq if UN Security Council members fail to reach agreement on an American proposal, the foreign minister said today.

‘‘We are trying to work with the Americans on the basis of the text they have proposed,’’ Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told Europe-1 radio. ‘‘If we don’t reach an agreement, we will officially propose our own text.’’

De Villepin’s comments came after Washington officially submitted its resolution to the Security Council on Friday to avoid being upstaged by France and Russia, both of whom began circulating their rival texts to the US draft.

France wants ‘‘the international community, the (Security) Council to stand united and send a firm and clear message’’ to Baghdad, de Villepin said. ‘‘It is urgent now that we agree on the essentials.’’

The US, backed by Britain, wants tough new rules for UN weapons inspections and a declaration that Iraq faces ‘‘serious consequences’’ if it fails to comply.

Russia, Iraq’s closest ally, wants to stick as closely as possible to current inspection rules and eliminate any language that could be used to attack Baghdad.

The rival documents reflect the division among the five veto-wielding permanent council members, who have been unable to resolve their differences over how to approach Iraq during six weeks of negotiations and are now putting their dispute before the 15-member council.

France, which like Russia holds veto power at the council, sees itself as a possible broker between Washington and Moscow. French diplomats in New York said their proposal had support from eight of the 15 council members. Paris wants the resolution on Iraq to avoid tough language that could trigger the use of military force.

De Villepin reiterated the French stance that war with Iraq should be the last option.

‘‘We will stick to this line. It is a fundamental ... of French diplomacy,’’ he said.

Despite all the disagreement, de Villepin said the US had accepted France’s wish for a two-step approach on Iraq.

France wants the Security Council to pass a first resolution demanding the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq and then, if Baghdad refuses to cooperate, a second resolution to decide how to respond.

‘‘The Americans have accepted the idea of two stages,’’ de Villepin said.

‘‘We are convinced that if each of us concentrates on the main, concrete goal - disarmament, the return of inspectors - there is today every possibility for a unanimous vote in the Security Council,’’ he said.