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Iraq and US devise plan for military partnership

Iraq and the US tried to clear the way for passage of a new UN resolution by devising a plan for military partnership when the US-led occupation ends officially on June 30.

US Ambassador John Negroponte, who hopes for a vote in the 15-nation Security Council today, said a revised draft, the fourth in two weeks, was to be introduced yesterday.

The one hitch that might prevent quick adoption of the US-British measure on Iraq's future is a proposed amendment from France stating explicitly that Iraqi consent would be needed for any major military offensives by US-led forces.

But diplomats said it was doubtful Washington would agree to the language France had suggested.

Yesterday, Russia also said it still had reservations, but was pleased at changes in the amended resolution.

"Intensive diplomatic consultations ... have led to further positive changes in the Anglo-American draft resolution," Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov told Interfax news agency.

"Nevertheless, there are still some issues to be agreed further."

The control of the 160,000 US-led troops has been the most contentious issue in the resolution, which gives international endorsement to the interim government and authorizes a multinational force under American command.

At a special session on Sunday, the Security Council received separate letters from US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Iraq's new prime minister, Iyad Allawi.

"We're confident that they do the trick," said Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry of Britain. He said his government understood that "the policy on sensitive offensive operations will require the assent" of a new Iraqi ministerial committee.

But the letters do not spell that out, prompting France, backed in part by China, Germany, Algeria and Chile, to request that the resolution make clear Iraq can block a major campaign, such as the American assault on Fallujah, which Iraqis opposed.

There was also no hint the changes would accommodate the Kurds, who are threatening to quit the government unless the UN resolution endorses the autonomy granted to them under a law passed in March to serve as Iraq's interim constitution.

"We are not bluffing here, we are serious -- it's the right of our people," Nechirvan Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq, said on Sunday.

Allawi announced yesterday that the Kurds and other Iraqi factions had agreed to disband their militias, in a deal that effectively outlaws fighters loyal to a rebel Shiite cleric.
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