Security Council members expect the US to circulate a revised resolution on Iraq early next week, and Russia said Friday the positions of the five veto-wielding members are now significantly closer.
But Moscow continued to oppose language that would allow the United States to attack Iraq on its own, and made clear that "considerable differences" remain on key issues.
While diplomatic contacts continued Friday between key capitals, UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix briefed the 10 elected Security Council members on his plans for inspections and talks with US President George W. Bush in Washington on Thursday about the US proposal.
Later, Blix met Iraqi Ambassador Mohammed Al-Douri. The Iraqi envoy said he requested the meeting to hear first-hand about Blix's talks with Bush and other senior US officials.
"He told me the most important thing is the United States chose the path of the United Nations to resolve the problem," Al-Douri said, but he expressed skepticism about Bush's real motive because the president is committed to ousting Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"I still think the United Nations will be used as a tool for America to implement their political program against my country," he said. "I hope that what they said is the truth, that the United Nations is the best way ... (but) we cannot trust them."
After seven weeks of negotiations, and almost daily demands from Bush for the UN to act against Iraq or face being irrelevant, Washington is now slowing down its timetable.
US officials say a vote is unlikely until late next week because of the need to revise the resolution and have the council discuss the updated draft -- which will delay UN action until after Tuesday's US midterm elections.
Nonetheless, the US is increasingly optimistic about support for a tough resolution in the 15 member council, and has claimed it has nine "yes" votes, the minimum needed for adoption.
The revised US-British draft is expected to make minor changes to plans for new inspections. But its unclear whether it will meet Russian, French and Chinese concerns about language which could authorize a US attack.
US officials said the new text would extend a deadline for Iraq to declare chemical programs unrelated to weapons from 30 days to 50 days.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said that "in the last few days we have succeeded in bringing the approaches of the five permanent members ... closer."
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
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READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a