A rchive Date
[ 14-09-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.N ]
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[http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/world/2097001
U.N. talks on Iraq fail to break impasse
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
New York Times
Sept. 13, 2003, 9:49PM
GENEVA - The United States and other leading nations on the Security Council held intensive discussions over the future governance of Iraq on Saturday but failed to break the impasse over France's insistence that Iraq's transition to self-rule be overseen by the United Nations rather than the U.S. occupation.
Secretary of State Colin Powell, who arrived here early Saturday morning, met with his counterparts from other nations and with Adnan Pachachi, a former Iraqi foreign minister who serves on the Iraqi Governing Council, which was appointed by the U.S.-led occupation.
Powell travels to Kuwait today and was scheduled to arrive in Iraq later "in order to see first-hand the progress being made by the international community and by the Iraqi people in rebuilding their nation and society from 30 years of Saddam Hussein's destructive rule."
The secretary's visit to Iraq had been kept secret for security reasons. His itinerary was not disclosed, but it was apparent that Powell was hoping that, with his first visit there, he could report that progress was being made toward Iraqi self-government under the timetable established in Washington.
France sought an immediate establishment of an Iraqi interim government that would report to the U.N. Security Council, not to the occupation authority, and it also wanted the Security Council to oversee a process of writing a constitution by the end of this year and elections next spring.
Powell said the U.S. proposal to have the 25-member Iraqi Governing Council report back to the Security Council on its own timetable for self-government had "received positive responses from everyone."
He said that an afternoon of discussion with French, Russian, Chinese and British envoys, and with the U.N. secretary-general, Kofi Annan, had managed to narrow some differences but only to a limited degree.
"Of course there are differences of opinion on certain aspects of our draft resolution," Powell said. "The important thing is that we spent our time today looking for points of convergence, and there are many."
Annan called the meeting Saturday and said that it had been constructive.
He characterized the session as "a very good meeting" that would lead eventually to a unified approach on Iraq. He said it was not a matter of getting the United Nations to exercise sovereignty in Iraq but for the United Nations to help Iraq exercise its own sovereignty.
Powell and Dominique de Villepin, the French foreign minister, said the discussion would resume in New York when the U.N. General Assembly convenes.
Powell said pointedly that it was not just a matter of the five permanent members of the Security Council that met here Saturday coming to an agreement. All 15 members must work out wording on a resolution that would expand U.N. authority over Iraq, clearing the way for greater international efforts to secure and rebuild the country.
These comments appeared to reflect the U.S. strategy of lining up as many votes as possible, to press France, the main opponent on the issue, not to veto a resolution that was perhaps less than completely to its liking. Last spring, in the period before the Iraq war, the United States failed to get the nine votes necessary for a resolution authorizing war. Even with the votes, any permanent member can veto a measure.
"I will leave this meeting encouraged with the points of convergence but also recognizing that there are still some differences to be worked out," Powell said, adding that "Dominique and I had excellent discussions" that would form "a basis for our representatives in New York to undertake discussions next week to see if we can find consensus."
De Villepin, for his part, also expressed hope that something could be worked out. "We are here in Geneva," he said, "in order to try and find solutions, not to create new problems." He added that, "We are all pursuing the same objective." He declined to answer a question about whether France might consider vetoing a new resolution.
In Washington, President Bush underscored his belief and hope that Iraq will be a stable democracy one day, telling Americans that his administration has a clear strategy and is moving forward on its work to complete the transformation of Iraq.
"We are following a clear strategy with three objectives: destroy the terrorists, enlist international support for a free Iraq and quickly transfer authority to the Iraqi people," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
Diplomats involved in the negotiations Saturday said there might be some way of bridging the difference between France and the United States. They said that, in contrast to the dispute before the war in Iraq, Germany and Russia were trying to serve as mediators.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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