Posted on 09/21/2003 10:35:09 PM PDT by lambo
France will not veto a US-backed Security Council resolution on the future of Iraq, President Jacques Chirac has said.
The United States circulated a draft text for a resolution earlier this month but it has not yet been put to a vote.
"I have no intention of opposing the resolution... I am not in that mind-set at all," the French leader told the New York Times newspaper in an interview published on Monday.
Paris had earlier criticised Washington's efforts to get United Nations backing for an multinational occupation force, demanding instead a more rapid transfer of power from the coalition forces to an Iraqi Government.
US President George W Bush, for his part, said on Sunday that he did not consider it essential to give the UN a greater role in Iraq.
Timetable
So far, the five permanent members of the Security Council have failed to agree on the timetable and manner of a transfer of power in Iraq, with France and the US differing most sharply.
Last week, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin suggested the establishment of a new Iraqi Government in a month, a draft constitution by the end of the year and elections in nine months' time.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell dismissed this as "totally unrealistic".
In his interview with the New York Times, Mr Chirac struck a conciliatory note.
He set out a two-stage plan for Iraqi self-rule, involving first a symbolic transfer of sovereignty to the existing Iraqi Governing Council.
A gradual ceding of real power would follow over the next six to nine months, Mr Chirac said.
However, he reaffirmed France's position that sovereignty should be "transferred to Iraq as quickly as possible".
Without Iraqi self-rule, he said, there was danger in having a "governor who is Christian and foreign" administer an Arab and Muslim country.
The United States has ruled out undermining the authority of the US administrator for Iraq, Paul Bremer, saying a hasty move to sovereignty could be counterproductive.
No troops
Mr Chirac said France would vote for a resolution that included a timetable for Iraqi sovereignty and a "key role" for the United Nations.
However, he added, if these provisions were absent in the final text France would abstain rather than veto the resolution.
The French president ruled out for the moment sending French combat troops to Iraq, but made clear this position could be revised in the future.
"Everything could change," he said. "I don't have a crystal ball."
Mr Chirac is due to meet Mr Bush in New York on Tuesday, when the US president is due to address the UN General Assembly.
In his interview with Fox News - which released advanced transcripts on Sunday - George W Bush said he would tell the assembly that going to war with Iraq was "the right decision".
He said the US did not need to give the UN a bigger role in Iraq - but added that it would be helpful if the world body helped write a new Iraqi constitution and oversee elections.
Many other UN members have been pushing for a greater role in post-war Iraq, and have criticised the US rationale for war as exaggerated and unfounded.
Blair doesn't buckle either. Chirac is a fool and he's proving to the world. Life is good!
That's funny! Although it's kind of sad, too, since French is a fun language to study and learn. But what's the use of our kids learning a dying language?
Right, but there is a cost. The unilateralist label will forever stick.
France cannot afford to stick her neck out. Her only claim to world power is anachronistic Security Council veto, which will be lost if France obstructionism leads to reform. This is probably a total cave, but Chirac is pretending otherwise.
That makes sense. Spanish is a growing language in this country.
French is a beautiful language but, unless one is planning a visit to France, Spanish is much more useful.
Except their was an abrupt change made by the parents during 2001 when the kids had already enrolled in French.
Gosh, I really messed that one up.
By the parents? That is too cool!
"IMHO, France has not yet begun to suffer..."
Amen to that. I do my part with every purchase I make.
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