The United States won over Mexico, a key vote on the U.N. Security Council, with a revised resolution on Iraq, but Russia and France are waiting to see if the new U.S. draft meets their main demand, preventing an automatic attack on Baghdad.
The Bush administration has been going over the revised text, hoping to circulate it to the U.N. Security Council later this week and vote on it within 48 hours.

The Bush administration picked up Mexico's support in its quest for unanimous support from Security Council members. For a resolution to pass, it needs nine "yes" votes and no veto by a permanent member - the United States, Russia, France, Britain and China.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Jorge Castaneda, whose country is on the Security Council and has strongly supported the Russian and French positions, said late Monday he now believes the revised draft will be approved by 14 of the 15 council members - with Syria abstaining.

The United States has been revamping its initial proposal, which would strengthen U.N. weapons inspections, declare Iraq in "material breach" of its obligations to eliminate nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and threaten "serious consequences" if it fails to cooperate with inspectors.

Russia, France and China contend that the United States could use references to "material breach" and "serious consequences" to launch an attack on Iraq without Security Council authorization. They want the possibility of force only to be considered in a second resolution if Iraq fails to comply with U.N. inspectors.

Castaneda told Monitor Radio that the revised draft offers a "final opportunity for diplomacy" and eliminates any mention of the use of force. It also eliminates references to "an automatic trigger," he said.

In response to a Mexican proposal, and to meet a key demand by opponents of the resolution, the new draft resolution offers Iraq a "carrot" of an end to sanctions if it complies, Castaneda said. "It also says that there would be severe consequences if it does not comply."

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Sergey Lavrov said there were no longer any differences over the issues of weapons inspections, but differences remain on language that Moscow believes could automatically trigger the use of force.

In the new text, diplomats said the first reference to "material breach" makes clear that Iraq is being given one last chance to eliminate its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Diplomats said the second reference makes clear that any declaration that Iraq is in "material breach" of its obligations does not mean the United States has a right to go to war.

Castaneda said the new draft also drops two U.S. proposals on inspections - one that would have allowed any of the five permanent Security Council members to be represented on inspection teams, and one that called for armed security forces to accompany inspectors.

The search for an Iraq resolution began Sept. 12 when Bush challenged world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly to deal with Iraq's failure over the last 11 years to comply with resolutions or stand aside as the United States acted.

Four days later, Iraq invited U.N. weapons inspectors to return after nearly four years.

PHOTO CAPTION

People pass the mural showing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in Baghdad Monday Nov. 4 2002. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said in a rare interview that he believed the American and British determination to make war on Iraq could collapse under the weight of anti-war sentiment in the two countries.(AP Photo/Dusan Vrani