The US and Britain said this evening that sharp divisions with Germany and France over Iraq did not mean a unified UN Security Council decision on how to disarm President Saddam Hussein was doomed.
"This is (a) beginning (of) debate, not the end of a debate, and even though there are sharp differences now as reported in the press and clearly there are sharp differences," Secretary of State Colin Powell said.
Mr Powell, at a press conference with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, said that sharp differences were in evidence before the UN Security Council approved Resolution 1441 on disarming Iraq but did not prevent it passing unanimously last year.
Top US and British officials have been turning up the heat all week on their allies, ahead of a crucial report to the Security Council by UN arms inspectors on next Monday.
"This is a process that is unfolding, and we will listen carefully to the inspectors' reports on Monday and then be in consultation with our friends and allies around the world and participate in the discussions within the Security Council," said Mr Powell.
"Then decisions will be forthcoming from those consultations and that discussion. "But let's not lose sight of the fact that the issue is the disarmament of Iraq, not how much more time the inspectors need, but how much more time should we give Iraq when they have not used the time they've already been given to do what is required of them, and that is to disarm."
Germany and France have in recent days harshly criticised the US approach. The German government opposes war against Iraq, while France has pushed for giving UN disarmament inspectors more time in Iraq in the face of increasingly warlike rhetoric from Washington.
Mr Powell said he did not believe the US and Britain would be left to mount military action on their own against Iraq.
"Many nations have already expressed a willingness to serve in a coalition of the willing ... I am sure it will be a strong coalition," he said.
Mr Straw added: "There is still a way in which this can be resolved peacefully. This is not about inspectors, it is not about the UK or France or Germany. It is about Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime, the fact that it has been breaking international law."
"There's varying reports of different opinions at the moment, but everybody has agreed on the seriousness of the deceit and delay of Saddam Hussein and the threat that he poses and of the need for it to be dealt with."
AFP