Discord Deepens Over Iraq Resolution

Russia says the United States must make changes to a draft United Nations resolution threatening force against Iraq. Moscow's view has been backed by French President Jacques Chirac who is reported as saying he is "completely hostile" to any automatic authorisation of force if Iraq contravened a new resolution.

If Iraq gains even greater destructive power, nations in the Middle East would face blackmail... Chaos in that region would be felt in Europe and beyond

In Washington, US President George W Bush signed into law a Congressional resolution authorising him to launch military action.

The apparent hardening of positions among the permanent members of the UN Security Council came as a general debate on Iraq opened at the United Nations in New York.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan urged the meeting to work towards a new resolution - without which inspectors have now said they will not return to Baghdad and their mission of assessing whether Iraq is developing weapons of mass destruction.

The US - backed by Britain - has demanded a single resolution permitting military action if Iraq does not allow weapons inspectors full access throughout Iraq.

The American variant of the resolution on Iraq has not undergone changes. It is unacceptable and Russia cannot support it

But Russia has now come down firmly against US and moved to the side of France - which wants one resolution to get the inspectors back in and a second threatening force only if they are not allowed to do their work.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin said the priority had to be the return of the weapons inspectors, but his Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov showed that Moscow would not simply follow the US line to get that to happen.

"The American variant of the resolution on Iraq has not undergone changes. It is unacceptable and Russia cannot support it," he told the Interfax news agency.

If a Security Council resolution is to pass, it must avoid a veto from any of the permanent members - the US, Russia, France, Britain and China.

BBC News Online's world affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds said diplomats believed Russia was concerned about the effect on its economy of a conflict in Iraq and said that France remained the key.

But French President Jacques Chirac said bluntly that though there was potential danger, "the aim is to disarm Iraq, not change its regime".

President Bush - who does want to see Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ousted - used the granting of war powers to him to tell the world the time had come to "confront a growing danger".

He said that while he hoped military action would not be necessary, "those who choose to live in denial may eventually be forced to live in fear".

The meeting at the UN opened with the reading of the statement from Mr Annan - who is in Asia - showing his support for a new, tougher and unambiguous resolution giving weapons inspectors unfettered access throughout Iraq.

The meeting was requested by the non-aligned movement of 130 mainly developing countries which is seeking a peaceful solution.

Correspondents say some countries are frustrated that debate has been held in private between Security Council members and that other states have seemed unable to influence the UN.

Ambassadors from all 15 members of the Security Council and around 50 other nations have asked to speak at the meeting, which is unusual but not unprecedented.

But Russia has now come down firmly against US and moved to the side of France

Good. Bush should push for a tough resolution that is sure to be veto'd.

To enter Iraq under a UN mandate means, first, that we are hobbled by whatever conditions are written into the resolution, and secondly, that we have mortgaged some part of Iraq's future to Russia and France in order to obtain their votes.

Thats a high price to pay for support that has no boots and no bayonets to back it up. A UN vote will not add or take away one soldier on the ground in Iraq. It will not add or subtract one person in the occupation force.

Going in without the mandate means that Iraq gets a clean slate, it means we get a free hand, and it means that all of the contracts that our purported allies have signed with the despot are null and void, and can be re-written and re-bid.

France and Russia should understand that they only have influence if they are with us. If they oppose us, their influence evaporates.

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