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PARIS (Reuters) - France is ready to discuss a U.S. proposal to end U.N. sanctions on Iraq, but needs guarantees on various issues including oil production, Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said in an interview published on Monday. The United Nations Security Council started on Friday to discuss the resolution, introduced by the United States and co-sponsored by Britain and Spain. "This text is a starting point," Villepin told the daily Le Monde. "We are approaching this stage in an open and constructive spirit. We will make suggestions aimed at reaching a rapid conclusion." France was the most vocal critic...

MOSCOW: Russia, saying it will push for a central UN role in Iraq, began consulting Saturday with other Security Council members over a proposed US plan that relegates the United Nations to a largely advisory position. Russia and France - two leading opponents of the US-led invasion of Iraq - have said they had questions about Washington's proposal for a UN resolution on ruling post-war Iraq. Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedorov said that in particular the draft ``fails to provide a clear picture of the transition from the UN's oil-for-food program to the lifting of international sanctions against Iraq.'' During...

If Iraq is to be rebuilt after decades of dictatorship and war, the United Nations must wake up to the fact that Saddam Hussein is no longer in charge, despite the worst intentions of his friends on the Security Council. The United States, Britain and Spain have put forth a proposal to give Iraq back to the Iraqis. The plan: Appoint a UN coordinator to work with the allied powers and use Iraq's oil revenues to rebuild the country and deliver humanitarian aid. That can't happen, though, until the sanctions put in place after Saddam invaded Kuwait in 1990 are...

May 10, 2003 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- UNITED NATIONS - With the U.N. Security Council looking to avoid the bitter divisions that broke out before the war, France and Russia toned down objections to a new U.S. plan for ruling postwar Iraq, but appeared intent to seek changes to give the United Nations a stronger role. The United States introduced a wide-ranging draft resolution that would give the U.N. stamp of approval for a U.S.-British occupation of Iraq for at least a year and hand the Americans and British control of the country's oil wealth to use in...

US Asks UN to Approve Iraq Occupation   The United States and its allies asked the UN Security Council on Friday to give its stamp of approval to their occupation of Iraq and sought permission to use revenue from the world's second-largest oil reserves to rebuild the war-battered country. The initial response was positive from some council members who had opposed the US-led war. But France, Russia and others raised questions about the limited UN role, the legitimacy of a new Iraqi government formed by the United States and Britain, and the future of UN weapons inspections, which were...

Britain and America yesterday asked the international community to grant them a sweeping mandate to rule Iraq as "occupying powers" for at least a year, effectively relegating the United Nations to an advisory role. A toughly worded draft resolution, handed to the UN Security Council, called for the immediate lifting of 12 years of sanctions against Iraq and the use of oil revenues to fund reconstruction. Despite several ringing clauses about the duties of a UN special co-ordinator for Iraq, critics will say it falls far short of the "vital role" agreed by Tony Blair and President George W Bush...

The United Nations Security Council today will consider a draft resolution calling for Iraqi sanctions to be lifted and the country's oil revenues to be placed under the control of the U.S.-led coalition. The proposal does not give the UN the leading role in postwar Iraq sought by some council members. Instead, it calls for the UN to help facilitate reconstruction and political reforms and coordinate humanitarian aid. RFE/RL reports from the UN. United Nations, 9 May 2003 (RFE/RL) -- The United States has proposed lifting nonmilitary UN sanctions on Iraq and giving the U.S.-led coalition control over oil revenues....

BRITAIN and the United States won key support at the United Nations yesterday for their plan to take control of Iraq’s oil wealth and to set up an interim authority in the country. A draft resolution introduced by the two allies and Spain attracted early endorsements from crucial swing voters on the 15-nation Security Council, leaving Russia and France isolated. The Council is expected to vote on the proposal before June 3, when the present phase of the UN’s Oil-for-Food programme expires. Council diplomats will meet again on Monday and Wednesday. “So far in the Council there has been a...

Some key points of the United States and Britain's draft resolution for U.N. approval to run Iraq for at least a year: - Ends U.N. control over Iraq's oil revenue. Instead, oil money goes into an "Iraqi Assistance Fund," controlled by U.S. and British Authorities, to help finance reconstruction. An international body, made up of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, would have the power to audit the fund. - Authorizes the United States and Britain to administer Iraq for at least 12 months, extended automatically unless the Security Council decides otherwise. Their role...

17 March – The United Kingdom, United States and Spain today announced they will not pursue a vote in the Security Council on a draft resolution presenting an ultimatum to Iraq and said they reserved the right to take their own steps to secure that country’s disarmament. MORE TO FOLLOW