Posted on 03/04/2003 8:04:34 AM PST by RCW2001
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Tuesday that Moscow is prepared to use its veto power in the UN Security Council to ensure that war is not waged on Iraq.
"Russia would not support any decision that would directly or indirectly lead to a war with Iraq," Ivanov said, according to a translated version of an answer during a BBC World Service question and answer session in London.
"Only unanimity will provide success in the solution of the Iraqi problem," he said. "All the time we look for solutions that will allow for joint action."
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, also warned that a divided vote on a U.S.-backed resolution would damage the credibility of the council.
"I tend to believe that if the council managed to come together and resolve the crisis...the credibility and the influence of the council would be enhanced," Annan said, adding a divided vote would diminish the council's power.
"I think this is a critically important stage for the United Nations," Annan said. "Whenever we've discussed issues of war and peace, it is something that has consumed all of us.
"We should only consider it when all possibilities of a peaceful solution have been exhausted."
The Security Council remains divided over a U.S.-British-Spanish resolution that paves the way for war with Iraq and a Franco-German plan calling for four more months of inspections.
Canada, while not a member of the UN Security Council, is trying to help broker a compromise plan that calls on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to disarm by March 28 or face war.
The Canadian proposal has received some interest from the 10 elected members of the Security Council, but the permanent members with veto power have already dismissed it.
The U.S. and Britain say the proposal isn't tough enough. France doesn't like the plan either, concerned that it could set a firm timetable for military action against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The two other permanent members, Russia and China, tend to favour the French position.
A vote on the U.S.-backed resolution is expected to come shortly after chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix delivers his latest progress report to the Security Council on March 7.
In order to pass, it would need the support of nine of the 15 members of the Security Council, and no vetos from the permanent members.
"I think the council's decision will be based on the totality of the presentation by the inspectors," Annan told reporters. "The council has the right to declare a further military breach at any time based on the reports of the inspectors."
In other developments Tuesday:
Turkey's government said it was considering having a second vote on a U.S. request to position more than 60,000 troops at Ankara bases in preparation for a possible attack on Iraq. The motion was narrowly rejected by Turkey over the weekend. The United States has ordered 60,000 additional troops to deploy to the Gulf. That's in addition to more than 250,000 U.S. and British troops already poised in the Gulf region, along with dozens of warships and hundreds of attack aircraft. Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi of Iran called for a UN-supervised referendum regarding a power transition in Iraq to avert war. Hussein has rejected any proposal to go into exile or give up power. With a report from Reuters and The Associated Press
Taking the keys out of the F-16s' ignition is the only way now, comrade. Care to try?
Sorry pal, your veto will have nothing to do whether war is waged or not.
Nah, the ball is rolling, just daring you or France to veto it.
Honestly, the second one of those countries veto's the resolution, the US representitives should get there stuff and just walk out and never come back. And than expell them from our shores.
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