Washington is making its final diplomatic push to win Security Council members to its side for a U.N. vote on war with Iraq while opponents lobby with equal intensity against setting a deadline for Iraqi disarmament.
Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday the United States had a "strong chance" of getting nine or 10 states in the 15-member Council to vote for the U.S.-backed draft that sets a March 17 deadline for Iraq to destroy all weapons of mass destruction, or face war.
Powell also said he would not be surprised if France blocked it with a veto. "Right now I would expect the French to do everything they can to stop it," he said on "Fox News Sunday." However, Powell noted that France had not yet used the actual "veto word."
Powell and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice were prepared to travel as needed to press the case in person.
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin embarked on a tour of Guinea, Cameroon and Angola, "swing voters" in the Security Council, in the hope of persuading them to reject the U.S. draft.
French President Jacques Chirac spoke by telephone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who also holds veto power in the council, and sources close to Chirac said the two concluded that, "We have the same approach." (Albawaba.com)
