"We seek a new and unambiguous resolution that underlines the transfer of full sovereignty to the people of Iraq," said Zebari (AFP)

NEW YORK , June 4 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that a U.S.-British draft resolution fell short of giving full sovereignty to Iraq after the June 30 handover of power or a say in the presence of the U.S.-led occupation forces in the oil-rich country.

Addressing members of the Security Council in New York Thursday, June 3,  Zebari said that the new government, selected earlier this week, will insist that the U.N. pass an "unambiguous resolution that underlines the transfer of full sovereignty to the people of Iraq and their representatives".

"By removing the label of occupation, we will deprive terrorists and anti-democratic forces of a rallying point to foment violence in our country," he said.

In the first visit to the Council by a member of the new interim government that will take over power from the U.S. occupation on June 30, Zebari offered an impassioned defense of the U.S.-led invasion in Iraq opposed by key Council nations, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

But he said that a U.S.-British draft resolution now being debated should give his government "full authority" to run Iraq 's affairs and mark a clear end to the occupation.

"Say"

With several Council members pushing to fix a date for U.S.-led occupation forces to leave Iraq - which is not in the current draft - Zebari gave no timetable but insisted on Iraq having a say in their presence after June 30.

Iraq "must have a say in the future presence of these forces and we urge that this be reflected in the new resolution," he said, adding that it was essential for the U.S.-led force to stay for now.

"Any premature departure of international troops would lead to chaos and the real possibility of civil war in Iraq ," he said.

"The continued presence of the multinational force will help preserve Iraq 's unity, prevent regional intervention in our affairs and protect our borders at this critical stage of our reconstruction," he said.

Zebari was a member of the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC), which was selected by the U.S.-led authority. Many Iraqis share a distrust of the members as collaborators with the occupation forces – now in Iraq for more than one year with no weapons of mass destruction, the main justification for the invasion, have been found.

Zebari made his appeal just hours after Iraq 's influential Shiite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani emphasized the need for a clear expression of Iraq 's new sovereignty from the Security Council.

The U.S. draft, co-sponsored by war ally Britain , would give international legitimacy to the new caretaker Iraqi government but also authorize the U.S.-led troops who will remain to take all necessary measures to ensure stability.

Washington rejected the new government to have a say over the presence or the mission of these troops.

Several key members of the Security Council have been pushing for rewriting the latest draft. France , Germany and Russia have all voiced concern that the text still does not spell out how sovereign Iraq will be.

In particular, the relationship between the caretaker government and U.S.-led forces would, under the current draft, be set out in a separate exchange of letters between the two sides and not in the resolution itself.

China has called for the resolution to mandate the international force only until the end of January 2005, the deadline for national elections that will replace Zebari's caretaker government.

In Moscow , Russian Deputy Foreign Minister told Interfax news agency that his government still had "many reservations" about the resolution.

A senior diplomat close to the Council told The Independent Friday, June 4, that members are still some way from agreeing on a text.

British sources indicated, however, that London was willing to revise the text further to accommodate French and German concerns in the hope of reaching a consensus on the resolution soon.