Posted on 09/30/2003 4:44:26 AM PDT by prairiebreeze
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Old rifts over the war in Iraq kept the European Union from forging a united position on when the United States should cede power, highlighting the difficulties Washington will face trying to reach agreement on a new U.N. resolution.
President Bush hopes such a resolution will bring more troops and money into Iraq. The unofficial target date for adopting a U.N. resolution is Oct. 22 - the day before a major donors meeting begins in Madrid, Spain, to try to generate funds for Iraq's reconstruction.
On Monday, Russia said it wants a "realistic but short" timeline for handing over power and is prepared to accept a stage-by-stage transition provided the United Nations receives a major political role. Secretary of State Colin Powell proposed last Thursday that Iraqis to adopt a constitution in six months and hold elections perhaps in a little more than a year.
"We, of course, believe that the sooner the sovereignty of Iraq is restored the better it would be for the overall settlement and rehabilitation of this country," Russia's deputy foreign minister, Yuri Fedotov, said after weekend meetings between Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Camp David.
"On the other hand, we are prepared to move on a stage-by-stage basis provided that necessary U.N. auspices is provided for the overall transition process in Iraq."
Powell has made clear that the United States will not relinquish power until a democratically elected Iraqi government is in place - a view supported by Britain, which joined Washington in the war.
But French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin reiterated Monday that "France insists on the implementation of a rapid transfer of power ... within several months."
Germany, another opponent of the war currently on the U.N. Security Council, has moved closer to the United States, and did not insist on a timetable Monday.
"We will actively support the sovereignty of the Iraqi people and at the same time avoid new risks," including a "power vacuum" in Iraq, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium.
But Dutch Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, whose country recently sent troops to Iraq, said much work remained to get a consensus within the EU and at the United Nations.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said, "We should be ready to go back to other governments within the next few days to talk about the resolution and to give them some idea of modifications to the text."
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Friday the United States has agreed to give the United Nations a bigger role in the elections and political transformation of Iraq as France and others have demanded.
French President Jacques Chirac has ruled out using France's veto on a new resolution, but many council members would like to see all 15 members support the text to show that the Security Council, after the bitter division over the war, is speaking with one voice on the future of Iraq.
Egypt welcomed Powell's timeline. Its foreign minister, Ahmed Maher, said there was a need to "create conditions conducive to the earliest possible" withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces and for the United Nations to assume a "central role" in assisting the country's revival.
Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa, whose country opposed the war, said Monday that a new resolution must have the support of Iraq's neighbors. Syria is a non-permanent Security Council member.
France gasping for relevance.
Prairie
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