UN remains deeply divided about Iraq

Russia warned today that it might veto the Anglo-American war resolution before the sharply divided UN Security Council. But Pakistan – a Muslim nation that could be a key swing vote – signalled growing support for Washington.

France, which along with Russia has led opposition to a war, said Iraq’s decision to comply with a UN order to destroy missiles proves that inspections are working.

Deep divisions in the Security Council showed no signs of closing today after Iraqi sources said the destruction of the banned Al Samoud 2 missiles would begin tomorrow, despite grumbling by Baghdad that the missiles do not violate UN imposed range limits.

“It is to start tomorrow,” chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said. “So maybe tomorrow evening or Sunday we will have more to say.”

He said he asked Iraq to clarify what it meant when it accepted the missiles’ destruction “in principle.” Nonetheless, he said, “It is a very significant piece of real disarmament.”

The US, Britain and Spain are pushing a resolution that would open the door for war, while Russia, China and France are calling for continued weapons inspections and a diplomatic end to the crisis.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Russia could use its veto power to block military action.

“Russia has the right to a veto in the UN Security Council and will use it if it is necessary in the interests of international stability,” Ivanov said today.

In Paris, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said Iraq’s consent on the missile order was “an important step” and “confirms that inspectors are getting results.” He would not say whether France would use its veto against the US backed resolution.

At the White House, press secretary Ari Fleischer dismissed the idea that the Iraqi decision reflected progress toward disarmament. “This is the deception the president predicted. We do expect that they will destroy at least some of their missiles,” he said.

But President George Bush will not settle for anything less than full disarmament, Fleischer said. “The Iraqi regime is a deception wrapped in a lie.”

Blix said in a new report to the Security Council that Baghdad’s disarmament efforts had been “very limited so far,” fuelling US and British arguments that Iraq is failing to comply with its obligations.

But he said today that if Iraq goes ahead and starts destroying the missiles, its co-operation on a major disarmament issue would be reflected in his next report to the council.

He will appear before the council next week to discuss the findings in his 17 page report on the past three months of inspections.

In a key section of the report, Blix says Saddam could have made greater efforts “to find remaining proscribed items or credible evidence showing the absence of such items.”

While Blix noted some recent Iraqi co-operation, he said: ”It is hard to understand why a number of the measures which are now being taken could not have been initiated earlier.”

Nonetheless, he noted in a recent interview that inspections resumed only in November after a four-year break and asked: “Is it the right time to close the door?”

Diplomats today privately described the atmosphere in the Security Council as bitter and demoralising, but many held out hope that a compromise could be reached among the council’s five major powers.

In Islamabad, a senior government source said Pakistan will likely vote with the United States at the council.

But despite signs of new support, Washington is still short of the nine votes it needs to get the resolution adopted. Some council members said they could support the US plan if it was open to negotiation. A senior US diplomat hinted there may be some wiggle room but not on substance.

The leaders of Washington’s strongest backers, Britain and Spain, dismissed Baghdad’s decision to comply with the missile order.

Saddam Hussein “never makes any concessions at all other than with the threat of force hanging over him,” Prime Minister Tony Blair said in Madrid after talks with his Spanish counterpart, Jose Maria Aznar.

Aznar said he was confident the resolution would win approval.

In a letter to Blix, Iraq agreed “in principle” to destroy the Al Samoud 2 missiles, which were found to have a range exceeding the 93 mile limit set by the Security Council at the end of the 1991 Gulf War.

Sources in Baghdad today confirmed the destruction would begin Saturday, the deadline set by Blix.

Iraq maintains some of the missiles overshot the limit because they were tested without warheads or guidance systems, making them lighter. In the letter, Iraq said it believes the decision to destroy the missiles was ”unjust,” and politically motivated.