UN Security Council to adopt new resolution on Iraq?

The USA hopes that the UN Security Council will adopt a new resolution on Iraq already on Wednesday, October 15, reported a representative of the US delegation in the UN headquarters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

On Monday, members of the Security Council held consultations on the third draft of the US Iraq resolution. This time it was forwarded by Great Britain and Spain.

As distinct from the two previous versions, this one included a specific date for working out a schedule for the adoption of the new constitution and elections in Iraq: the provisional governing council should submit it to the Security Council before December 15th.

According to French, Chinese and Russian diplomats, the new draft is a step forward compared to the previous ones, but it again does not contain a clear-cut plan of stopping the US occupation and does not guarantee the central role of the UN in the political reconstruction of Iraq.

"This time, the wording is better but the approach remains the same," a representative of the French delegation, who asked to remain unidentified, told journalists. "We believe that the draft leaves for the UN a small field for activity," he pointed out.

The Chinese mission told RIA Novosti that Beijing "is interested in the early possible restoration of Iraq's sovereignty and the leading role of the UN in this process." Chinese representatives expressed the hope that in the coming days "the sides will bring their stances closer together." A representative of the Russian mission also pointed out that a new draft, just as the previous ones, did not give the UN the central role in the restoration of Iraq and did not have a specific schedule for the transfer of power in the country to the Iraqis themselves. Without making changes and amendments in the text "it will be difficult to reach a consensus on these issues," said press secretary of the Russian mission Sergei Trepelkov.