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France,
Russia Vow to Veto War Resolution
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"We
will not allow a draft resolution authorising the recourse to
force to pass," pledged France, Russia and Germany
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PARIS,
March 5 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – In what is seen as a
new shot across the bows to the American war schemes, France and Russia
pledged Wednesday, March 5, not to allow a draft resolution authorizing
the use of force against Iraq to be adopted by the U.N. Security
Council, clearly hinting that either or both could use their veto powers
if necessary.
Reading
from a joint statement at a press conference with his German and Russian
counterparts, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said:
"We will not allow a draft resolution authorising the recourse to
force to pass."
"There
will be no second resolution authorising the use of force," he
underlined, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
France
and Russia "will assume all their responsibilities" in the
Security Council, where each has veto power, said the French minister.
"The
possibilities for a political settlement exist, even if there is just
one chance to avoid war. The path we are proposing is the most
reasonable one," averred his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov.
He
stressed that "our Chinese partners share our approach,"
evoking the possible direction Beijing, another veto-wielding member on
the Security Council, may take if the U.S. draft is put to a vote.
Joining
hands, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said "absolutely
everything must be done to find a peaceful solution."
Fischer
reiterated Germany's long-standing opposition to any U.S.-led war and
its belief that U.N. weapons inspectors should be given more time to
verify Baghdad's assertion that it has no weapons of mass destruction.
"We
do not only think that a resolution ending inspections and opening the
way for a military intervention is not necessary. We think that it is a
step in the wrong direction," he said in a press interview to be
published Thursday, March 6.
Observers
say this is the strongest statement of opposition yet to the new draft
resolution backed by the US, U.K. and Spain, the BBC News Online
reported.
Ivanov
also met British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Wednesday morning and had
talks with French President Jacques Chirac, but splits between the
Security Council members appear unbridgeable.
They
are likely to become public again at a Security Council meeting on
Friday, March 7, when chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix presents his
latest report on Iraqi disarmament.
"Encouraging"
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"France's
conviction is that a war could only increase tensions," said
De Villepin
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De
Villepin made clear that all of three countries called on Iraq to fully
cooperate with inspections, warning that they "cannot go on
indefinitely".
The
joint objective of Paris, Moscow and Berlin "remains the effective
and complete disarmament of Iraq," he said, dismissing criticism
from some U.S. and British media that any of them were appeasing
Baghdad.
"We
think this objective can be achieved by the peaceful path of
inspections," de Villepin said, adding that France's consistent
position was that "force can only be a last resort".
The
joint statement was seen as a slap in the face of the United States,
which, with Britain and Spain, has submitted a draft resolution to the
U.N. Security Council which would pave the way war on Iraq.
A
vote on the resolution had been expected within days of the next
progress update to the Council on Friday by Blix, but Wednesday's joint
declaration by France, Germany and Russia was likely to change that.
De
Villepin said that progress so far had been "encouraging",
noting Iraq's destruction of its Al-Samoud missiles, its promise to turn
over more information to the inspectors, and its allowing Iraqi
scientists to be interviewed.
"France's
conviction is that a war could only increase tensions. The search for a
peaceful solution in the Middle East would certainly not be
helped," he said.
The
French minister also challenged Washington's view that it could wage war
without U.N. authorisation, saying that "the United Nations is
indispensable" in working through the Iraq crisis.
Berlin
Refuted U.S. Majority Claim
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"We
are confident of securing the votes for that resolution. We will
carry on working to that end," Blair claimed
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Germany,
a non-permanent member without a veto power, cast down on American and
British allegations they had a majority support for their draft
resolution in the Security Council.
Germany
"has the clear impression that the United States does not have a
majority on the Security Council" for the resolution, government
spokesman Bela Anda told reporters.
Anda
also announced that Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will travel to London
on March 12 for talks on the issue with British Prime Minister Tony
Blair.
Blair
Confident
Despite
this blunt statements threatening to veto the draft resolution, the war
camp is still showing defiance to all calls for a peaceful solution to
the crisis and more time for the U.N. weapons inspectors.
A
staunch supporter for a military solution to the Iraq crisis, Blair said
he was confident the U.N. Security Council would back the new draft
resolution.
"We
are confident of securing the votes for that resolution. We will carry
on working to that end," Blair told the House of Commons.
He
said Britain and the United States would press their new draft
resolution to a vote if Blix reports on Friday that Iraq was still
failing to comply fully with existing U.N. Resolution 1441, adopted in
November.
In
his first appearance in the House of Commons since 121 of his own Labour
MPs voted last week against his war plans, Blair showed no signs of
watering down his unwavering support for U.S. President George W.
Bush’s hard-line policy on Iraq.
However,
Blair refrained from saying whether a Security Council vote would be
held early next week, saying only that "the exact timing of any
vote is a matter still under discussion."
Blair
also warned Iraq it would still be guilty of flouting U.N. demands to
disarm even if it destroys all its al-Samoud II missiles as demanded by
U.N. weapons inspectors.
Asked
by opposition Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith if he thought Iraq
would still be in material breach of U.N. resolutions even if all the
missiles were destroyed, Blair replied "Yes, that is obviously
right."
Iraq
on Wednesday destroyed nine more Al-Samoud 2 missiles under U.N.
supervision, the largest number in a single day since the process began
over the weekend.
British
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw claimed on Tuesday that it has
"sufficient legal authority" to go to war with the United
States against Iraq without a new U.N. resolution.
He
added that as far as London was concerned, U.N. Resolution
1441 and others adopted before it were good enough under
international law for the United States and Britain to act militarily.
The
draft would require a nine-vote majority on the 15-member Security
Council, with none of the five permanent members exercising their veto.
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