For his part, Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix voiced regret that his teams in Iraq had no more time to complete their work.

"I naturally feel sadness that three and a half months of work carried out in Iraq have not brought the assurances needed about the absence of weapons of mass destruction ... (and) that no more time is available for our inspections and that armed action now seems imminent," Blix told the UN Security Council.

"Our experts have found so far that in substance only limited new information has been provided that will help to resolve remaining questions," he said.

Blix appeared before the council to formally present his inspectors' work program in Iraq, which defines the key remaining disarmament tasks required of Baghdad.

In the report, Blix pointed out that "none of the resolutions that govern the work of UNMOVIC lays down a date for the completion of the work."

Blix’s work program comprised a 10-page summary, a 12-page annex setting out what is required of Iraq to complete each of the tasks and 55 pages of background information.

The tasks covered the three areas under UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) scrutiny: missiles and chemical and biological weapons.

Four of the tasks apply to Iraq's missiles and warheads, and one to spray devices and drones; three pertain to chemical weapons, including VX, Sarin and mustard agent; and three apply to biological agents, such as anthrax, botulinum toxin and smallpox.

The 12th task is to declare "any proscribed activities post-1998," including underground or mobile weapons facilities.

However, the U.S. chief delegate to the U.N. John Negroponte told the council that no realistic program of work could be developed while Iraq failed to cooperate “fully and unconditionally” with the inspectors.

"The fact is that the situation on the ground will change and so will the remaining disarmament tasks. We have no choice but to set this work program aside for the time being," he said.

But he stressed the importance of keeping the oil-for-food program to meet the “needs of the Iraqi people”.

"We are prepared to present soon a draft humanitarian resolution that would ensure the continuity of the programme," he said, adding: "We hope that progress on this resolution will be swift."

U.S. To Fuel Terrorism

France and Russia warned that a U.S. invasion of Iraq could undermine the global fight against terrorism by dividing the international community and emboldening the terrorists.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said the decision to close the door on a diplomatic solution and invade Iraq carried widespread ramifications.

"Such actions ... will not help to strengthen the unity of the international community at a time when the world sorely needs solidarity and joint efforts first and foremost to repel such a real and generally shared threat as international terrorism," Ivanov told the council.

His warning was echoed by French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, who said those who believed terrorism would be eradicated through war on Iraq run the risk of failing in their objectives.

“The outbreak of force in this area, which is so unstable, can only exacerbate the tensions and fractures on which the terrorists feed,” he said.

“Terrorism thrives on regional crises. It garners support from the divisions in the world; it utilises all available resources ... from the knife to the weapons of mass destruction it is trying to acquire,” he added.

“To ensure our safety, we must take into account the multiplicity of crises and their numerous facets, including cultural and religious considerations,” he added.

The French minister also criticised the United States for failing to adhere to international law in its efforts to disarm Iraq.

“Only respect for the law can legitimise the use of force,” de Villepin said.

"Respect for the law should be applied in all circumstances, and even more so when it involves the most serious decision, to use force," he added.

De Villepin also questioned the future of a post-war Iraq.

"No country on its own has the means to build a future for Iraq. Moreover, no one country can claim the necessary legitimacy. It is only the United Nations which can claim the legal and moral authority for such an exercise," he said.

Germany Rejects Security Council Failure

Germany, for its part, rejected a claim by the United States that the UN Security Council failed a test by refusing to unite behind a U.S.-backed bid to attack Iraq.

"The Security Council has not failed; we must counter that myth," German Foreign Minister Joshka Fischer told the open meeting of the council.

Fischer, challenging the legality of the imminent U.S.-led invasion, said "the Security Council is not responsible for what is happening outside the UN."

He insisted that it was still possible to disarm the regime of President Saddam Hussein by peaceful means.

"Peaceful means have not been exhausted," he said. "For that reason, Germany emphatically rejects the impending war."

Fischer noted that the UN work program "provides clear and convincing guidelines on how to disarm Iraq peacefully within a short space of time."

He said Germany was not pacifist by principle. It had "accepted the necessity of war" in Kosovo in 1999 and in Afghanistan in 2001 "because all peaceful alternatives had proved unsuccessful."

“The majority of the Security Council members believe that there are no grounds for breaking off the disarmament process in Iraq today,” he said.

Fischer also stressed that "the United Nations and the Security Council must continue to play the central role in the Iraq conflict."

The UN was "the key institution for the preservation of peace and stability and for the peaceful reconciliation of interests in the world of today and of tomorrow," he said.

Guinean Foreign Minister Francois Fall, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the council, said the council might begin work on a draft resolution on the impending humanitarian crisis in Iraq later on Wednesday.

"We must do all we can to limit the loss of human life and damage to the infrastructure," Fall said following a two-and-a-half-hour meeting.