Germany, France Oppose New UN Resolution on Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, February 25, 2003

Germany, France Oppose New UN Resolution on Iraq

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and visiting French President Jacques Chirac on Monday expressed their opposition to adopting a new UN resolution on the Iraqi issue.

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German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and visiting French President Jacques Chirac on Monday expressed their opposition to adopting a new UN resolution on the Iraqi issue.

After his meeting with Chirac, Schroeder said the draft resolution put forward by the United States, Britain and Spain didnot change the conviction of Germany and France to use all means for a peaceful resolution of the Iraqi issue.

Schroeder said that he and Chirac see no reason "to divert from our common position."

Chirac said that he did not see the benefit of the US-British-Spanish draft resolution and therefore, was opposed to it, according to German press reports.

The draft UN Security Resolution submitted by the three countries accuses Baghdad of missing the last chance to disarm, thus paving the way for a US-led military strike on Iraq.

Chirac, who came here for regular political consultations between Berlin and Paris, said earlier in the day that France, Germany and Russia had proposed to the UN Security Council that UN weapon inspections be strengthened in order to peacefully resolve the Iraqi issue.

US, Britain, Spain present draft new Iraq resolution to UN

The United States, Britain and Spain Monday submitted a draft new Iraq resolution to the United Nations Security Council, which is holding a closed meeting dominated by the Iraqi issue.

The draft document was formally presented by British UN Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock on the behalf of the three countries.

On the other side, France, Germany and Russia are expected to submit to the meeting their joint counter plan, which recommends astep-by-step program of peaceful disarmament of Iraq.

In a copy of the draft US-British-Spanish document obtained by Xinhua earlier, the United States, Britain and Spain declare that Iraq "has failed to take the final opportunity afforded to it in resolution 1441."

The one-page draft says Iraq has been and remains in material breach of its obligations.

It also declares that the Iraqi arms declaration contained "false statements and omissions" and "has failed to comply with, and cooperate fully in the implementation of, that resolution (1441)," and thus the country constituted "a further material breach.

The draft document does not set any deadlines. But the United States and Britain made it clear they want the UN Security Council to vote by mid-March.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told a regular news briefing Monday that the United States does not expect the Security Council to take many days to discuss a new resolution on Iraq, saying that such a document should be voted on in short order.

"The president (George W. Bush) expects it to be voted on in short order. (But) I think it's impossible to specify an exact date," Fleischer said.

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