Further obstacles to US/British-led attempts to get a new UN resolution authorising the use of force against Iraq emerged this evening after France followed Russia in confirming its intention to veto the move and UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan warned that unilateral action would break international law.
A further problem arose this evening after it emerged the six members of the Security Council yet to decide their position on the prosed resolution are searching for a last-minute compromise.
The search for a compromise could put off any resolution vote until later this week.
No plan has yet emerged but Guinea's UN ambassador, Mr Mamady Traore, said he has been meeting with the five other wavering council members since Saturday in search of a proposal acceptable to the entire council.
The other five members who have yet to take an official stand on the new resolution are Angola, Cameroon, Mexico, Chile and Pakistan.
Among the options the six are considering are compiling a list of specific disarmament demands that Iraq would have to meet and setting a longer deadline for Iraqi compliance, council diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, in a live television interview this evening, French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, said that France is prepared to veto the US-backed resolution: "No matter what the circumstances we will vote 'no."
He also indicated the veto might not be needed because the resolution does not have the nine Security Council votes needed for passage.
Asked whether he believed that voting against the resolution would seriously damage relations with the US, Chirac said "I am totally convinced of the opposite."
His pledge follows Russia's confirmation today of its intention to use its veto rather than abstain when the vote comes before the UN Security Council.
The US had hoped to table the motion tomorrow but that now seems unlikely following indications from Britain that it would consider changes to the wording of the motion.
Russian foreign Minister Mr Igor Ivanov told reporters today that the United States and Britain had so far failed to justify their cause.
"We did not hear any serious arguments in favor of a military solution to the Iraqi problem in the course of [Friday's] preceding session of the UN Security Council," Mr Ivanov said.
Russia - together with France, Germany and later China - had vowed to "block" the tough new resolution ordering Saddam to prove he was cooperating with weapons inspectors by March 17th. But today Mr Ivanov was explicit: "Russia believes that there is no need for any additional UN Security Council resolutions.
Mr Ivanov also warned that Washington's efforts to topple Saddam and impose a US-based system of democracy on the country were "doomed".
"The attempts to export democracy, especially to countries with cultures that have survived through the centuries, is doomed to failure," ITAR-TASS quoted Mr Ivanov as saying.
Later, Mr Annan warned that the US would be in breach of international law if they carried through their threat to attack Iraq without Security Council support.
"The members of the Security Council are now faced with a grave choice," he told a news conference in The Hague.
"If they fail to agree on a common position and action is taken without the authority of the Security Council, the legitimacy and support for any such action would be seriously impaired," he said.
This evening's events now casts serious doubts on US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell's earlier claim there was a "strong chance" of getting nine or 10 states in the 15-member Council to vote for a US-backed resolution setting a March 17th deadline for Iraq to disarm. But President George W Bush has insisted that the US will act unilaterally if necessary.
Both Mr Blair and President Bush have been engaged in a round of telephone diplomacy today trying to secure the nine votes they need on the 15 member council for a resolution to pass.
"I'm working flat out for the second resolution in the UN. I'm negotiating very hard with other countries," Mr Blair told British television.
But his position is complicated by internal party problems.
High-profile International Development Secretary Ms Clare Short last night described Mr Blair's approach to the crisis as "reckless" and said she would resign if there was a war without a second United Nations resolution.
Elsewhere, French Foreign Minister Mr Dominique de Villepin today began a tour of Guinea, Cameroon and Angola, "swing voters" in the Security Council, in the hope of persuading them to reject the US draft.
AFP &