Mixed response for new US draft resolution on Iraq

The United States on Monday circulated a revised draft resolution on Iraq, which met with mixed response from some members who said it does not go far enough to meet objections raised by them earlier.

This is its third attempt to win international support.

In the latest version the Americans asked their handpicked Interim Governing Council in Iraq to submit to the Security Council by December 15 a timetable for framing a new constitution and holding elections.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte, said he plans to seek vote on it sometime this week. But Russia and France indicated some changes were needed and negotiations on it would be necessary, diplomats said.

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said the draft requires more study as it only calls for 'a timetable on timetable to writing constitution and holding of elections'.

Russian diplomats said some changes would be necessary to win Moscow's support.

But German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer did not dismiss the draft outright and called it a 'step in the right direction'.

PTI