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No breakthrough on Iraq resolutionRussian delegation said to still have reservations
Ronni Berke and Elise Labott
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Ambassadors from the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China met late Tuesday for the second time in the day to discuss a U.S. draft resolution on Iraq, but emerged with no sign of a breakthrough. The meeting of the five permanent members of the Security Council took place at the British mission -- a follow-up to a morning meeting at the Russian mission. Both meetings were attempts to get an agreement on a resolution that would warn Iraq it would "face serious consequences" if it further violates U.N. demands on disarmament. Russia and France remain dissatisfied with elements of the U.S. draft. John Negroponte, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters after the meeting the United States was still "trying to get to consensus." Negroponte said there was no plan yet to circulate a resolution more broadly to the 10 rotating members of the Security Council. That would be the next step in the process toward taking the resolution to a vote. Negroponte said the United States was still working to get "sufficient understanding" among the permanent members -- each with veto power -- to avoid a veto of the resolution. One British official said Tuesday was the start of the serious negotiations and called it a "hard grind." The key items at issue, according to one council diplomat, remains the warning of "serious consequences" and references to "material breach" in the resolution. In its current form, the resolution says Iraq is "in material breach of its obligations." It further states if Iraq makes "false statements" or "omissions" in its weapons declarations, or if it fails "at any time to comply with and cooperate fully with this resolution," then it would be found in "further material breach" of its obligations. "Material breach" is the legal code term that could be used as justification for an attack on Iraq. After the first meeting, Russian officials said the U.S. draft does not meet their requirements "yet." Russia has said it would back a new resolution that is "realistic, improves the efficiency of weapons inspectors, and does not contain clauses that provide for the automatic use of force." In Moscow, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told Russian television the U.S. resolution "does noes not meet the criteria which the Russian side has stated earlier and affirms now." Diplomats said the French still were reluctant to accept the text, fearing the new draft gave the United States the ability to wage unilateral military action against Iraq without Security Council approval. White House spokesman Sean McCormack said Russia's position was not a setback in the talks. "We're still talking," he said. "We'll continue to talk. The situation is fluid. We are engaged in intricate diplomacy." Chinese Ambassador Wang Yingfan said simply: "We know each other's positions better than before." A U.S. State Department official told CNN that Secretary of State Colin Powell telephoned Russian Ivanov and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to discuss the resolution Tuesday. CNN producers Liz Neisloss, Ronni Berke and Elise Labott contributed to this report.
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