A United Nations plane carrying U.N. weapons inspectors leaves Saddam airport in Baghdad February 10,2003

BRUSSELS, February 10 (News Agencies) - Belgium joined France on Monday, February 10, in vetoing U.S. demands for NATO military support over Iraq, a Belgian official said.

France vetoed the U.S. demands including a package of military support for Alliance member Turkey in the event of war, a NATO official said, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

France formally raised objections under a "silence procedure" invoked by NATO chief George Robertson Thursday, February 6, in a bid to force an agreement, the official said.

Under the procedure, the U.S. request for NATO to start logistical planning over Iraq would have been considered approved if none of the 19 Alliance members had objected by 0900 GMT on Monday.

The French Broke The Silence

"The French broke the silence," the NATO official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel confirmed Sunday, February 9, that his country would use its power of veto to block the accord and would probably be joined by both Germany and France.

The United States formally asked NATO on January 15 to lend various kinds of backing in the event of military attack against Iraq.

The package being proposed by NATO would include deploying Patriot anti-missile batteries, AWACS surveillance planes and chemical and biological protection units to Turkey, NATO's only Muslim state and the only one bordering Iraq.

But Belgium, France and Germany -- who are opposed to war over Iraq -- object that NATO would send the wrong signal by starting military planning when diplomacy still has a chance.

Dutch unhappy with Franco-German Proposal

In another development, Dutch Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is unhappy with a Franco-German proposal to disarm Iraq circulating in the media, his spokesman told AFP on Monday.

"We are not sure if there even is a plan, it is foolish to launch this scheme through the media and the timing is unfortunate because, as the weapons inspectors prepare to report to the United Nations on Friday, the pressure on (Iraqi leader) Saddam Hussein should not let up," ministry spokesman Bart Jochems said.

"If you start waving peace plans now, Hussein will think, 'Great, I will fool them again'," he explained, reported AFP.

However, New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark said Monday that the proposal must be taken seriously.

German Defense Minister Peter Struck said on Sunday that Germany and France would present a proposal to the United Nations Security Council next week to send peacekeepers into Iraq, triple the number of UN weapons inspectors and turn the Gulf state into a no-fly zone. Clark told reporters she welcomed the move.

"Now, the New Zealand Government's position ... from the outset has been to support getting a diplomatic solution to the crisis and so prima facie suggestions by two major Continental powers like France and Germany trying to avert a war has to be taken seriously and we would look forward to hearing more about it," Clark said. U.S. and British authorities have scornfully dismissed the Franco-German initiative.

UN weapons inspectors leave Baghdad

Meanwhile, Chief U.N. weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei arrived in Cyprus on Monday on their way home after a crucial visit to Baghdad that could determine the fate of U.S war plans, AFP reported.

Blix and ElBaradei are to present their findings to the U.N. Security Council on February 14 after two days of meetings in the Iraqi capital, where they said they saw "good progress" in cooperation with UN disarmament demands.

"We are leaving with a sense of cautious optimism," ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said late Sunday.

The visit could prove momentous for the fate of Iraq as U.S. President George W. Bush has underlined he is ready to use force to strip Baghdad of the weapons of mass destruction he accuses Iraq of concealing.

On Monday, February 10, Iraq's state-run media hailed Monday the "big progress" achieved during the visit.

Babel, a newspaper owned by Saddam Hussein's eldest son, Uday, noted the positive atmosphere that prevailed during the two-day visit.

It expressed satisfaction at the "professionalism, the exchange of points of views and the achieved results which amounted to big progress.

"Iraq has presented and is presenting the highest levels of positive cooperation with UN inspection teams whose chiefs were received by senior officials from the Iraqi leadership," the daily said.

"Iraq is expecting Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei to present a professional and fair report which would meet the same high and special level of cooperation as shown by the Iraqi side."

Babel said Iraq also expected Blix and ElBaradei, who head the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) respectively, to "remain steadfast against American pressures that seek (to project) evil on the entire world."

It urged the inspectors "to block those who are calling for war and aggression and allow the work of the U.N. inspections to regain the world's trust and credibility."