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http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/ao/Qun-iraq.RZVI_DM4.html France ups the stakes again, forces ministerial UN meeting on Iraq Robert Holloway -Villepin had decided to attend the briefing because the council was dealing with "one of the most important issues of the past 20 years," de La Sabliere said. Iraq dominated newspaper headlines and television broadcasts, he said, "so it is not a paradox to say the council should discuss it in public; the contrary would be a paradox." -In Washington, senior State Department officials said US Secretary of State Colin Powell would attend the Friday meeting reluctantly. While one official said "the odds of him going are very high," another explained: "He can't really stay away if the others are going. It would send a bad message." -US officials recalled that Villepin upstaged Powell at the previous council ministerial, held February 14, when he received a highly unusual round of sustained applause after delivering an impassioned case against war and for more weapons inspections. UNITED NATIONS, March 5 (AFP) - France has ratcheted up pressure against military action to disarm Iraq by obliging the Security Council to hear its next report from the UN arms inspectors at ministerial level and in public. British and US diplomats on Tuesday reacted angrily in private to the move, saying it was an attempt to bolster opposition to a draft resolution to declare Iraq in breach of council resolutions and authorize the use of force to disarm it. The new council president, Mamady Traore of Guinea, said France sprung the idea of a ministerial meeting on its colleagues when they met for the first time as a full group to discuss their programme of work for March. "Until yesterday when I held bilateral consultations, the idea of informal consultations was agreed, but this morning some delegations said their foreign ministers would be attending Friday's meeting," he told reporters. "And so the format of the meeting had to change." Traore said both Hans Blix, the chief inspector for chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missiles, and Mohammed ElBaradei, the UN's nuclear watchdog, would brief the council. France, Germany and Russia have circulated a counter-proposal to expand and prolong the arms inspections which began on November 27. One diplomat's reaction to news that French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin was coming to New York for the third time in a month was unprintable. More politely, Britain's ambassador, Jeremy Greenstock, told reporters: "We had hoped that there would be informal consultations on Friday for detailed discussions on what is actually going on on the ground and how we come to a conclusion on that." He added: "We have some questions about the real value of ministers coming at that point, but that is for ministers; it is not for me to say." Traore said that after a public session on Friday morning, where ministers would be able to speak, the council would hold a question-and-answer session with Blix and ElBaradei behind closed doors in the afternoon. Blix's report, released on Friday last week, criticised Iraqi disarmament efforts, but Blix said at the time that his written words had already been overtaken by Iraq's agreement to destroy its banned Al-Samoud 2 missiles. Iraq has completed the demolition of 16 missiles under UN supervision since Saturday morning and was in process of scrapping three more on Tuesday. French ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said Blix's oral presentation would indicate "the latest progress made in cooperation by Iraq." Villepin had decided to attend the briefing because the council was dealing with "one of the most important issues of the past 20 years," de La Sabliere said. Iraq dominated newspaper headlines and television broadcasts, he said, "so it is not a paradox to say the council should discuss it in public; the contrary would be a paradox." Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said he was informed by his UN ambassador that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan believes that a proposal presented by Canada last month was "a good base for a compromise." Ottawa suggested setting a March 28 deadline for Iraq to fully comply with UN demands. In Washington, senior State Department officials said US Secretary of State Colin Powell would attend the Friday meeting reluctantly. While one official said "the odds of him going are very high," another explained: "He can't really stay away if the others are going. It would send a bad message." Traore said that Germany and Syria -- two of the strongest opponents of the use of force -- had already confirmed that they would send their ministers, as had Spain, a co-sponsor of the draft resolution. US officials recalled that Villepin upstaged Powell at the previous council ministerial, held February 14, when he received a highly unusual round of sustained applause after delivering an impassioned case against war and for more weapons inspections. Powell said Tuesday he was "increasingly optimistic" about securing the nine votes needed to adopt the resolution, but he would not say for certain that the draft would be put to a vote until after hearing the Blix report. "Early next week, we'll make a judgment on what we have heard, make a judgment on whether it's time to put the resolution up to a vote," he told Germany's RTL television. "I'm increasingly optimistic that if it comes to a vote, we will be able to make a case that will persuade most of the members of the Security Council to vote for the resolution," Powell told France 2 television. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bdn7KI.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] TOPICA - Start your own email discussion group. FREE! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/create/index2.html ==^================================================================
