HIGHLIGHTS: Powell Urges UN Security Council to Maintain Pressure on Iraq by Moving Quickly||Powell Hints There's Room for Compromise Between the One & Two-Resolution Proposals Now under Informal Discussions Between UN Security Council Member States||Blix Non-committal on One or Two Resolution Proposals||Anglo-American One-Resolution Approach Facing Stiff Opposition from 3 Other Veto-Wielding States as well as Majority Council Members|| STORY: US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he was confident the UN Security Council would agree on a new resolution demanding Iraqi disarmament as the chief UN arms inspector said his team would welcome a new mandate.

"I think we have an agreement that such a resolution would be useful," Powell said after meeting in Washington with Hans Blix, head of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC).
"And I think, increasingly, members of the council are coming to the conclusion that such a resolution would be useful," he told reporters, urging the Security Council to maintain pressure on Iraq by moving quickly.
Powell, however, allowed that disagreements persisted among the Security Council members on whether there should be one resolution that includes an authorization of the use of force against Iraq in the event of non-compliance, or two, as France has proposed.
"We still believe a one-resolution solution is the better way to go," he said, noting that pressure from the international community was the only way to ensure Iraqi compliance.
But he hinted that there might be room for compromise.
"This is a negotiation," he said, noting the insistance particularly of France that authorization for the use of force be contained only in a second resolution to be debated only if Iraq is found to be violating the first one.
"It's a very complex one, it's a very intricate one," Powell said. "There are 15 Security Council members who have an equity in this. They are all sovereign nations with a point of view and we have to listen to all those points of view and find a way to move forward."
Blix, who answers to the Security Council and briefed the members on his recent agreement with Iraq on the return of his team under existing UN mandates, was non-committal on the question of one or two resolutions.
He agreed with Powell that pressure was needed to get Iraq to comply, but would not be drawn when asked his opinion of the diplomatic fight now underway.
"I think it is clear that there has to be constant pressure to keep the Iraqi's to comply," Blix said. "Exactly the formulation of that, whether it is one resolution or two, we will leave to (the Security Council)."
But, he said UNMOVIC would "welcome" a new resolution that further clarified its mandate and spelled out in detail what its specific instructions were.
"We know from long experience that the devil is in the details and we have been able to clarify quite a number of them," Blix said, referring to the deal he reached on Tuesday in Vienna with the Iraqis.
"I think the Security Council resolution that is now being discussed, is one that I think we would welcome, this would further clarify matters," he said.
Powell, who met with Blix along with US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, offered UNMOVIC Washington's full support, which he said could be shown with a new resolution.
"The best way to support their efforts is with a new UN Security Council resolution setting out very tough standards and conditions for the conduct of new inspections," he said.
Powell restated Washington's insistance that Blix and his team not return to Iraq until a new resolution had been adopted.
Blix appeared sympathetic, but demurred in his answer to a question on the subject, saying only that it would be "awkward" for the team to go back and then be handed new instructions after they arrived.
Despite Powell's optimism about the council's backing for a resolution that gives the inspectors a new mandate, US and UN officials said Friday that the United States and Britain might be forced to drop their opposition to a two-step solution.
The five veto-wielding permanent Security Council members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- are deeply divided over the issue of one or two resolutions.
China and Russia appear to have joined France in insisting on two -- one to set out a new mandate for the inspectors and the steps Iraq must take to disarm, and a second, detailing the consequences for non-compliance, if necessary.
In addition to facing a possible veto from any of those three, the US-British proposal is opposed by a majority of the elected members, US and UN officials said, citing private council discussions on Thursday when Blix briefed the group.
Even if the veto threat could be overcome, the United States and Britain may only be able to count on the support of four -- Bulgaria, Colombia, Norway and Singapore -- of the non-permanent members, and two of those -- Colombia and Singapore -- are shaky, the officials said.
The remaining elected Security Council members -- Cameroon, Guinea, Ireland, Mauritius, Mexico and Syria -- were all opposed to the US-British proposal in varying degrees, with the most adament being Ireland, Mexico and Syria, they said.
In the best case scenario, that would leave them three votes short of the nine necessary to pass the resolution, the officials said.
PHOTO CAPTION

U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix (R) speaks with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Mohammed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, after meeting at the State Department in Washington, October 4, 2002. Blix said he will wait until a new United Nations resolution before entering Iraq for weapons inspections. REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang