Posted on 03/10/2003 12:19:04 PM PST by AntiGuv
LONDON - Britain would consider a compromise U.N. resolution that extends an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein beyond the March 17 deadline already proposed, Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman said Monday.
A compromise resolution could give Saddam a specific list of demands based on weapons inspectors' assessment of gaps in Iraqi disarmament, he said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity.
"There are a number of key areas where there are key questions," the spokesman said, adding that Saddam had failed to state where he was hiding suspected mustard gas, sarin and VX nerve gas. The U.N. Security Council could demand the Iraqi leader reveal the whereabouts of such poisons under a tight deadline, he said.
He said a compromise resolution could give Saddam longer than the proposed March 17 deadline, but not much more.
"There may be other colleagues on the council who would like a little bit more time and we will listen to their views," the spokesman said.
"What is important is that whatever the date is ... there has to be a tight deadline because what Saddam has shown in the past is that it is only within a very, very tight deadline that he would bow to pressure," he added.
The spokesman said Blair spoke by phone Monday with chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix. The two discussed the unresolved disarmament points Blair feels could form the basis for a compromise resolution, the spokesman said.
France and Russia said Monday that they would oppose the U.S.-backed resolution setting a March 17 ultimatum for Saddam, a strong indication the measure could face defeat.
The proposal has bitterly divided the Security Council, with French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin traveling to Africa to lobby three undecided members of the council.
Britain's Minister for Africa, Baroness Amos, was also on her way to Africa, to try persuading Cameroon, Angola and Guinea to back the new resolution, the Foreign Office said.
UN's 6 Undecided Council Members Seek Delay in Iraq Deadline By Bill Varner
United Nations, March 10 (Bloomberg) -- Six members of the United Nations Security Council asked the U.S., U.K. and Spain to push back until April 17 a deadline for Iraq to disarm, putting pressure on the U.S. to accept a further delay in its efforts to gain support for military action.
Pakistan, Mexico, Angola, Chile, Cameroon and Guinea presented the three countries with a draft of a statement calling for a delay in the March 17 ultimatum for Iraq to comply with UN demands that it give up weapons of mass destruction. A copy of the draft was obtained by Bloomberg News and the document was confirmed by Chile.
``We would like to see how we could establish the credibility of the (weapons) inspections,'' Munir Akram, Pakistan's ambassador to the UN, said in an interview. ``We have to make this last effort.''
While none of the six countries are permanent members of the Security Council, meaning they don't have veto power, the U.S. needs their support to get the nine votes necessary to pass a war resolution. There are 15 Security Council members.
None of the countries have publicly stated how they will vote on a resolution. Bush administration officials say they are confident Angola will back the U.S.
The UN members also called for the establishment of a series of tests of Iraqi compliance and further reports from the chief weapons inspectors.
Russian, French Veto
The proposal comes amid threats by France and Russia to veto any UN resolution calling for using force to disarm Iraq.
A Russian veto would be a ``missed opportunity'' White spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
``If there were to be a veto, which is indeed a possibility, it would be, from a moral point of view, more than a disappointment,'' Fleischer told reporters today in Washington. ``It would let down millions of people around the world.''
France, the U.S. and U.K. are stepping up pressure on UN Security Council members to support their opposing positions on how to disarm Saddam Hussein's regime after the U.K. proposed a March 17 deadline for Iraq to destroy its weapons.
France, China and Russia are leading calls for more inspections, and Russia will veto any resolution that would clear the way for war, Agence France-Presse reported, citing an Itar- Tass news agency story on Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.
The U.S. and the U.K., also permanent members, say Iraq must be disarmed by force, and Fleischer said today that a vote may come this week on a resolution sanctioning such an attack.
The U.S. and U.K. have deployed more than 240,000 troops in the Gulf.
It's getting close to the time when I'll have to take a week-long news break, just for my sanity.
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