US/IRAQ: In an effort to gain international support for its Iraq policy, the United States has circulated a new draft resolution - its third - to the UN Security Council. Conor O'Clery reports from New York
The latest version, unlike its predecessors, gives Iraq's US-appointed governing council a deadline of December 15th to come up with a plan for a transfer of power to an elected Iraqi government. Ambassador John Negroponte said the US will try to get a vote this week on the resolution, which unlike the two earlier failed drafts is co-sponsored by Britain and Spain.
Diplomatic sources said the vote would go ahead if there was enough support for it on the council but that for now the sponsor countries were "playing it by ear".
The text would be submitted formally either last night or this morning, the source said.
The prospects for unanimous approval appear dim as the draft does not include two key demands of Russia, France and China that there should be a firm deadline for the handover of power and a substantial UN involvement in the transition process.
In its present form the resolution gives the Iraqi council until December 15th to develop a timetable for democratic elections and the drafting of a new constitution.
The US is anxious to obtain UN sanction for help in the form of troops to supplement the hard-pressed American occupation forces and extra finance for reconstruction.
A Russian spokesman at the UN said Moscow still wants an exact timetable for a handover of power and a "crucial, central role" for the United Nations. "Until additional corrections are introduced to this document, including those that were suggested by Russia, it is very difficult to reach consensus on this issue," he said.
France has signalled that it will not threaten a veto - as it did when the US, Britain and Spain tried unsuccessfully to get a pre-war resolution backing the invasion of Iraq - leaving the door open for Washington to ask for majority support from the 15-member Security Council.
As in previous versions, the draft says the UN "should strengthen its vital role in Iraq" by providing humanitarian relief, promoting economic reconstruction and helping to restore government institutions.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for a central role for the UN in the election process, while the US wants to retain power for the coalition until the formulation of a constitution and elections.
The French Foreign Minister, Mr Dominique de Villepin, said yesterday in Luxembourg that other countries want a timetable on a provisional government.
In a concession, the US draft says the UN will review the mission of any multinational force created to maintain security in Iraq within a year of the passing of the resolution.
Turkey is the only major country to agree to US requests for troops so far, and the Iraqi council has voiced concern at the entry of Turkish troops on to Iraqi territory.
"The governing council feels it is better not to involve and engage any of Iraq's neighbouring countries in peacekeeping missions because of the sensitivities of the whole issue," said Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, who is visiting Malaysia.