Washington's key allies, France and Germany said they would do all they could to prevent a war in Iraq, while Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said yesterday there were no grounds at the moment to use force against Iraq.
In Berlin, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said he and French President Jacques Chirac strongly rejected the view that war was inevitable.
"We are both of the opinion, and the French president said that quite clearly yesterday, that one can never accept it when it is said that war is unavoidable," Schroeder said. "War may never be considered unavoidable."
China joined France and Germany in voicing strong opposition to war before UN inspectors searching for weapons of mass destruction had had time to try to disarm Iraq peacefully.
"I think our position is extremely close to that of France," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue (
China and France are permanent, veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, along with the US, Britain and Russia.
Ivanov, attending a meeting with EU ministers in Athens, said diplomatic efforts should concentrate on allowing UN inspectors to press on with their job of looking for evidence of weapons of mass destruction.
"Russia believes that there are no grounds at the moment to use military force against Iraq," Ivanov said. "There is still political and diplomatic leeway to resolve the Iraq issue."
Washington accuses Iraq of hiding weapons of mass destruction and has threatened to attack if Baghdad does not disarm in line with a UN resolution passed in November. Iraq denies it has any banned weapons.
The UN weapons inspectors are due to make a key report to the UN on Monday on the extent of Iraqi cooperation, but have already said they need several more months to complete their work.
However, US President George W. Bush has warned time is running out for Iraq.
He is massing 150,000 troops in the region and has said he is ready to use them with or without Security Council backing if he considers Iraq has not disarmed.
The US has asked NATO to consider six measures to provide indirect military assistance in case of an invasion.
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson denied yesterday there had been a "bust-up" over providing support to a US-led war.
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