Britain says Iraq deadline can be extended

Facing almost certain defeat, Britain and the US signalled today they would extend a deadline for Saddam Hussein to disarm or face war for a short period - but not the 45 days six swing council nations said they want.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer insisted that the resolution would be put to a vote this week but said a proposal being floated to push back the March 17 deadline by a month was “a non-starter.”

“There is room for diplomacy here,” Fleischer said. ”Not much room and not much time.”

Ambassador Martin Belinga-Eboutou of Cameroon said he and five other ambassadors from Mexico, Chile, Angola, Guinea and Pakistan would suggest a deadline of 45 days. But US officials completely discounted the proposal.

“It’s not going anywhere, there’s only one resolution on the table,” one US official said.

Britain’s UN Ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock also said the March 17 deadline could be extended but not by that much.

Britain is “prepared to look at time lines and tests together, but I’m pretty sure we’re talking about action in March. Don’t look beyond March,” he said.

Reacting to details of the latest British compromise, French diplomats said the resolution would still mean authorising war, which France is unwilling to do. However, the French Foreign Ministry in Paris indicated it was open to new ideas.

“It’s a new development and the future will tell us if it is a significant development,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Francois Rivasseau said. “We’ve indicated we are open to dialogue.”

However, he stressed that the “red line” set out by France cannot be crossed: “We want no ultimatum. We want no element of automaticity. And we’ve said we want what the inspectors say taken into account.”

The council, which was meeting tonight, is deeply divided over the issue, with France, Russia and China strongly opposed to Washington’s hard-line position on Saddam Hussein’s regime.

The resolution – which authorises war anytime after March 17 unless Iraq proves before then that it has disarmed – requires nine “yes” votes. Approval also requires that France, Russia and China, which along with Britain and the United States are the council’s permanent members, withhold their vetoes - either by abstaining or voting in favour.

The United States is assured the support of Britain, Spain and Bulgaria, with Cameroon and Mexico leaning heavily toward the U.S. position. But with Germany, Syria and Pakistan preparing abstentions or “no” votes, Washington is left trying to canvass the support of Chile, Angola and Guinea.

Council members were to hold an open meeting on the Iraq crisis today and Wednesday at the request of the Non-Aligned Movement, which represents about 115 mainly developing countries.