Blair Confident of French Support for New UN Resolution on Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, February 04, 2003

Blair Confident of French Support for New UN Resolution on Iraq

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The British government is increasingly confident that France will eventually throw its weight behind a second UN Security Council resolution that would authorize military action against Iraq, The Guardian newspaper reported on Monday.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the staunchest US ally on disarming Iraq by force if necessary, was expected to meet with French President Jacques Chirac Tuesday for a summit at Le Touquet,a beach resort in northern France.

Blair and Bush's tough line on Iraq has been criticized in Europe and elsewhere, with France and Germany clearly expressing their objection to a war with Iraq without further UN approval.

With their talks expected to focus on Iraq, Blair would seek topersuade Chirac to join the coalition of war against Iraq by confirming Britain's determination to press for a second UN resolution, which was the brain-child of France, the paper said.

The paper quoted some Downing Street sources as saying that some factors would persuade Chirac to fall in behind the Britons and Americans within the next six weeks.

France has to consider whether it really wants to fall out withthe United States and whether it wants to be on the sidelines if apost-Saddam government is established in Iraq, the sources said, adding that the present UN resolution 1441 makes clear that Iraq'snon-compliance is grounds for action.

However, France would need a lot of persuading, sources from the British Foreign Office were quoted as saying. The Downing Street did not expect Chirac to sign up to military action immediately after his summit with Blair.

Chirac would want to await the second report by the chief UN arms inspector, Hans Blix, to the Security Council on Feb. 14, thesources said.

According to other press reports, Blair and Chirac would do their best to soothe bilateral relations at their coming summit, taking the pragmatic view that tensions serve neither's interests.

France was snubbed Thursday after Britain, together with seven other European leaders, signed an open letter urging unity behind the United States in the crisis over Iraq, without noticing Franceand Germany.

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