The French President, Mr Jacques Chirac said this evening that there was no need for a second United Nations resolution authorising the use of force against Iraq at present while arms inspections continue and France would oppose it.
Arriving for the emergency EU summit on the Iraq crisis, Chirac said the international community was pursuing the aim of the peaceful disarmament of Iraq through weapons inspections.
"We consider that war is always, always, the worst solution.
"That is our position which leads us to conclude that it is not necessary today to have a second resolution, which France could only oppose," he told reporters.
France and Germany, backed by Russia, proposed expanding UN weapons inspections in a joint statement last week.
In Washington, President Bush's national security adviser said yesterday that the White House might attempt to push through a new UN resolution to force a showdown with Saddam Hussein.
Ms Condoleezza Rice said on "Fox News Sunday" that the administration may ask the United Nations to take up a new resolution authorizing force against Iraq, although she said action already was sanctioned by a previous resolution.
The Bush administration was evaluating all options after being rebuffed at the UN Security Council, where members lined up behind France's call for more weapons inspections and against military action.