UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed to the United States last night not to block Security Council approval of UN peacekeepers for Ivory Coast, but Washington signaled it was not yet ready to come on board.
Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin of France, a strong backer of a UN peacekeeping mission for its former West African colony where it now has 4,000 of its own troops, said after talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell that he hoped for a US decision by the end of the month.
"I think that the United States secretary understands perfectly the situation and, like us, considers that something should be done," Mr Villepin said.
Asked if Mr Powell had given him assurances of eventual US support, Mr Villepin responded: "I don't need assurances, I need decisions, and I hope -- and I am quite sure -- I will have these decisions in a couple of weeks."
Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producer, was once a model of stability in West Africa but was torn by civil war when rebel soldiers mutinied against the government in 2002 and seized the north and large swathes of the west.
The United States this week blocked approval of a UN peacekeeping mission for Ivory Coast at least until the end of February even as France argued the mission was essential to the peace process and should be in place by April 4.