PARIS/UNITED NATIONS, 27 October — France turned up the diplomatic heat on the United States yesterday to make changes to its draft UN resolution on Iraq, as anti-war protesters organized rallies in Washington and other cities around the world.
Activists expressed hope that 100,000 people would turn out in the US capital to express opposition to their government’s threat to take military action against Iraq if it does not cooperate fully with United Nations weapons inspectors.
In Germany, there were demonstrations in about 70 towns and cities with the largest in Berlin where almost 10,000 people marched along city center streets. In Amsterdam, some 4,000 people turned out in heavy rain to protest against US policy.
French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told Europe 1 radio that France was willing to use the draft resolution put forward by the United States on Friday as a basis for seeking an agreement among the 15 members of the Security Council. But consensus on a resolution was needed urgently, he added.
“We are going to try to work with the Americans on the basis of the text they have proposed. If we don’t manage that, then we will obviously officially propose our own text,” de Villepin said.
De Villepin’s comments added to efforts in New York by French and Russian diplomats on Friday to press Washington to make changes in its text, which is cosponsored by Britain. A resolution in the Security Council needs nine “yes” votes for adoption and no veto from its five permanent members, the United States, France, Russia, China and Britain.
Amid the diplomatic maneuvering, US President George W. Bush sought Chinese President Jiang Zemin’s backing for the new UN resolution demanding Iraqi disarmament. Jiang met Bush on Friday at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Bush said after the talks: “China supports Iraq’s strict compliance with UN Security Council resolutions.” The Chinese president was noncommittal and China’s ambassador to the United Nations voiced reservations about some of the wording of the US resolution.
Russia, which has questioned whether Iraq still has any stockpiles of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons, eliminates “material breach” and “serious consequences” in its draft. Russia’s version also removes US attempts to give UN inspectors broad new rights.
France, which sees its text as a bridge between the United States and Russia, also deletes “material breach” but includes a reference to “serious consequences.”
