U.S., France agree on new Iraq resolution

UNITED NATIONS --The United States and France reached agreement Thursday on a new Security Council resolution on Iraq, removing a key hurdle toward passage of the U.S.-drafted plan for tough new weapons inspections.

Confident of winning approval, the UnitedStates revised its final document to get Russia and others on board and send a united message to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

A vote on the resolution was scheduled for Friday morning. President Bush had earlier called for a Friday vote, calling Saddam "a real threat" and declaring that "it's now time for the world to come together and disarm him."

According to French diplomats, the United States agreed to change wording in a key provision that would declare Iraq in "material breach" of its U.N. obligations. The change concerns by France, Russia, Syria and others that the original wording would have let the U.S. determine on its own whether Iraq had committed an infraction. Such a determination, France and Russia feared, would have triggered an attack.

China's deputy U.N. ambassador Zhang Yishan, the current Security Council president, said the 15 members were "getting closer" to agreement and if negotiations continue on their current track "the sunlight of unity is about to come."

The United States introduced the revised resolution late Thursday to try to address concerns of council members, said Richard Grenell, spokesman for U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte.

Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said he's confident his team will be back in Iraq soon, after a nearly four-year absence, and said a resolution supported by all 15 members "strengthens our hand."

Removing hurdle

Thursday's agreement between the U.S. and France removed a key hurdle toward passage of the U.S.-drafted plan for tough new weapons inspections, coupled with threats of "serious consequences" if Iraq fails to cooperate.

Language in another key paragraph was also changed to account for Russian concerns of a second hidden trigger. The changes were reflected in a new U.S. draft given to council members Thursday evening.

Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov told The Associated Press that a vote was possible today if the U.S. and Britain come up with concessions.

"There are still some problems," he said.

Syria has opposed any new resolution, but appeared to shift its position Thursday.

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa discussed Iraq with French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin Thursday and said afterward that any new resolution should not provide the least possibility of using force against Iraq, according to the official Syrian news agency.

Syria's deputy U.N. ambassador Fayssal Mekdad added that "on this issue all Arab countries are united." He said he proposed several changes to the U.S. text, on the hidden trigger issue and inspections.

Whether the United States and its cosponsor, Britain, can agree to Syria's proposals remains to be seen.

Prepared for victory

At the White House, Bush was clearly prepared for victory.

Twice during a news conference, the president referred to passage as an issue of "when," rather than "if."

"When this resolution passes, I will be able to say that the United Nations has recognized the threat and now we're going to work together to disarm him," Bush said. "And he must be cooperative in the disarmament."

In Iraq, the government-controlled media called the draft resolution a pretext for war and urged the Security Council not to bow to American demands.

"America wants to use this resolution as a pretext and a cover for its aggression on Iraq and the whole Arab nation," the ruling Baath Party newspaper Al-Thawra said Thursday.

According to a strict timeline in the resolution, Iraq would have seven days to accept the resolution's terms. Blix has said an advance team of inspectors would be on the ground within 10 days.

Inspectors would have up to 45 days to actually begin work, and must report to the council 60 days later on Iraq's performance. In the meantime, any Iraqi obstructions or noncompliance would be reported to the council for assessment.

At the same time, it offers Iraq the possibility of lifting a decade of crippling sanctions if it complies fully with its obligations. It requires Iraq to provide inspectors with "immediate, unimpeded, unconditional, and unrestricted access to any and all" areas, including eight presidential sites, where advance notice was previously needed for inspections.

Inspectors can also decide whether to interview Iraqi scientists and government officials outside the country.