MOSCOW — The Bush administration failed over the weekend to win support for military action in Iraq from three key nations, further complicating American diplomatic efforts at the United Nations.
Russia, siding with France and China, said Sunday that military intervention is not needed since Baghdad has already caved to international pressure and will allow weapons inspectors back into Iraq.
The White House sent diplomatic missions to Paris, Moscow and Beijing over the weekend to urge these permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to back a new U.S. draft proposal that would permit the use of force against Iraq. President George W. Bush said Saturday this policy was in the “national interest” of the United States.
The early version of the U.S. draft, set to be made public today, sets out a seven-day deadline for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to accept demands to disarm and open all suspected weapons sites to U.N. weapons inspectors. It also sets a 30-day deadline for Iraq to make a full declaration of any weapons of mass destruction programs and authorizes a military attack if Baghdad does not comply.
The United Nations says it still does not have a complete accounting of Baghdad’s weapons programs because weapons inspectors were pulled out of Iraq in December 1998 after Iraq’s failure to comply with their demands.
The United States already has the backing of Great Britain. However, approval from France, Russia and China — all of whom hold veto power at the Security Council — is vital in the White House’s attempt to achieve international legitimacy for a war against Saddam.
The Russian news agency Interfax on Sunday quoted high-ranking Kremlin officials as saying they were “disappointed” with the U.S. draft.
France, Russia and China, who conferred on the subject Thursday and Friday, say they favor a two-step Security Council plan against Iraq.
The three have said that they agree that a new Security Council resolution is needed to revise the mandate for U.N. weapons inspectors. But they will only consider a Security Council resolution mandating force against Baghdad after weapons inspectors finished their job or if Saddam hindered their work.
U.N. weapons inspectors are scheduled to return to Iraq in mid-October.