BERLIN,
September 22 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - France said
Monday, September 22, it would not veto a U.S.-backed Security Council
resolution on the future of Iraq, as Germany said it hoped to build
bridges with the United States on the war-ravaged Arab country.
As
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder headed for his first direct talks
with U.S. President George W. Bush in more than a year, government
sources insisted Wednesday's talks, their first since May 2002, were
designed to outline a "political future" and "common
vision" on Iraq, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Germany
wants "an inclusive strategy, not exclusive," the sources
added to AFP, on condition of anonymity. They were "all
partners" working on the same dossier.
Nevertheless,
Schroeder will also meet Presidents Jacques Chirac of France and
Vladimir Putin of Russia in New York immediately after seeing Bush.
The
three, who all opposed the U.S.-led Iraq invasion, want to confer on
their stance, the sources said.
But
they strongly denied suggestions that the three were seeking some form
of European "counter-axis" to Washington, which wants a UN
resolution to share the military and financial burden of stabilizing
and reconstructing Iraq.
The
sources said Schroeder wanted to bring his conception of post-war Iraq
closer to the U.S. viewpoint despite their differences over the war.
Berlin
"is not pessimistic" of achieving progress, they added.
Schroeder
was due to set off for New York early Monday evening after talks with
Polish leaders.
On
Tuesday, he will address the UN General Assembly, coincidentally 30
years after Germany joined the world body.
German
diplomats say a weekend summit in Berlin, at which anti-war allies
Schroeder and Chirac met with Bush's closest ally British Prime
Minister Tony Blair, showed that the opposing sides could work
together.
They
said their positions were not that far apart and that they all agreed
on the need for a rapid transfer of power to local authorities in Iraq
and a central role for the United Nations.
The
critical question is how rapid a transfer, and how central a UN role.
While Chirac wants a specific timetable, Blair, in line with
Washington, does not want to commit himself.
According
to AFP, analysts believe Schroeder has nuanced his stance away from
France, a view seemingly supported by the government sources who said
negotiators had to be "realistic" and "not lose a sense
of proportion" over the fact that a transfer of power would take
time.
Although
it has refused to send troops to Iraq, Berlin has offered to help
train Iraqi police and military independent of any UN resolution.
The
German government is already ready to take part in a scheduled October
23-24 donors' conference in Madrid on Iraq's reconstruction.
Schroeder
and Bush are also set to discuss Germany's peacekeeping role in
Afghanistan, the Middle East peace process and the risks of the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, touching notably on
North Korea and Iran.
No
French Veto
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"We
don't have the intention to oppose,” Chirac
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Within
the same context, French President Jacques Chirac has said France will
not veto the U.S.-backed Security Council resolution on the future of
Iraq.
In
an interview with the New York Times, Chirac said France
would abstain in a vote on the draft resolution if it failed to
include a firm deadline and timetable for a transfer of sovereignty to
Iraqis.
"We
don't have the intention to oppose. If we oppose it, that would mean
voting no, that is to say, to use the veto. I am not in that mindset
at all," Chirac said.
But
he said France would only support the resolution if it included a
deadline and timetable for transferring sovereignty in Iraq as well as
a "key role" for the United Nations in the oil-rich country.
If
these provisions were not included, France would abstain, Chirac said.
A
transfer of sovereignty should occur "right now", followed
by a "transfer of responsibility" within six to nine months,
he insisted.
"We
can either abstain or vote yes. To vote yes, we need a clear
long-range political vision and a key role for the UN."
"A
clear long-range political vision is one that sets out first, a
precise deadline for a transfer of sovereignty, and second, a
timetable for transferring responsibility," he said.
"What
I propose resembles to some degree what we're doing in
Afghanistan," where international involvement continued after a
relatively rapid transfer of power to Afghanis, Chirac said.
"We
believe that there will be no concrete solution unless sovereignty is
transferred to Iraq as quickly as possible."
The
United States is seeking approval for a UN Security Council resolution
that would authorize the deployment of a multinational force in Iraq,
thus lightening Washington's financial and military burden in the
unstable country.
The
resolution proposed by Washington also affords international
acceptance of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council and asks the
Iraqis to suggest a clear timetable for the creation of democratic
institutions.
Chirac
ruled out for the moment sending French combat troops to Iraq but
said France could be willing to train Iraqi soldiers and police.
In
an interview with Fox News television Monday US President George W.
Bush referred to a seven-step U.S. plan for restoring Iraqi
sovereignty that reserves handover of power until last.
