UN Security Council will Discuss Anglo-American Draft Resolution on Iraq and the Plan of France, Russia and Germany

On Thursday the UN Security Council will discuss the draft resolution on Iraq advanced by the USA, Britain and Spain on Monday, as well as the plan suggested by France, Russia and Germany.

Baghdad violated and continues to violate all previous UN resolutions and did not use the last chance offered it in Resolution 1441, which is fraught with serious consequences, says the Anglo-American-Spanish document. The 12-paragraph draft does not mention the deadline for the fulfilment of the three countries' demands or the consequences of "violating" them. But diplomatic sources in the UN say that the war could be sanctioned by a one-phrase resolution about the last chance allegedly missed by Baghdad.

The resolution of the USA, Britain and Spain paves the way to hostilities in the Gulf, while the Franco-Russo-German memorandum which France moved for the consideration of the Security Council on Monday calls on the member states to do their best to create a practical chance for a peaceful settlement of the Iraqi crisis.

The memorandum points out that there are no reasons for using military force against Baghdad because suspicions of the existence of mass destruction weapons in Iraq had not been proved by the inspections.

Russia's permanent representative to the UN Sergei Lavrov said that there is still a chance for a peaceful settlement of the Iraqi problem. "We believe that the inspections are progressing effectively and Iraq is responding to the demands of the international community and the pressure put on it," said Lavrov.