UNITED NATIONS — After seven weeks of diplomatic wrangling, the U.N. Security Council seems certain to approve a new resolution soon that will govern weapons inspections in Iraq. But precisely what it will say is still being debated.
Diplomats say few flashpoints remain in hammering out an agreement on a draft resolution that the United States and Britain presented last week. The draft calls for stringent weapons inspections in Iraq and warns of consequences if Saddam Hussein does not comply.
The key questions are about the term “material breach.” Some delegates think those words, which refer to a failure to comply with U.N. resolutions, are a “hidden trigger,” meaning Washington could interpret them as a green light to attack Iraq.
“The triggers are buried deeper, but they are still there,” a delegate from China, speaking on condition of anonymity, said after Wednesday’s Security Council meeting.
The draft resolution declares that Iraq has been in “material breach” of past U.N. resolutions for years.
Several nations, notably France, Russia and China, have said they worry that the United States might use the words as justification to start a war with Hussein, regardless of the work or findings of weapons inspectors. But their concerns appeared to be lessening, and talk of a consensus was growing.
One British diplomat, who asked not to be identified, said the remaining negotiations essentially would “be about finding words or other ways to bridge a gap of trust.”
Russian U.N. Ambassador Sergei Lavrov said, “We don’t want automaticity in the use of force, and we believe that inspectors should be given the mandate, which is a help for them, not a burden for them.”
A French delegate, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said France would accept “material breach” if it is “put in the context in which we are sure that there will be a new decision, at least a new assessment, by the Security Council” if Iraq thwarts inspectors.
The United States has said it would not restrict its right to go to war without the council’s approval.