Bush says UN has last chance with Iraq resolution

TEXAS - President Bush said the United Nations had a last chance to prove its relevance by adopting a resolution the United States will propose that could pave the way for war on Iraq.

Bush told a news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar he was unwilling to wait two months for a new resolution. That was time taken by the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution last November threatening Iraq with "serious consequences" if it did not disarm.

The United States and those countries that support it will submit a draft resolution early next week contending Iraq is failing to comply with UN disarmament demands, Bush said.

Britain said on Saturday it would jointly propose the new resolution with the United States next week and a vote would probably be held in mid-March.

But prospects for a new resolution are in doubt, with veto-holder France and Germany leading opposition to an early decision on war by the 15-member council. Bush has vowed to bypass the United Nations and lead a coalition to disarm Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by force if necessary.

Asked if this was the last chance for the Security Council to show its relevance, Bush said "Yes. Si. Last chance." But he said, "No," to waiting two months for a new resolution

"Time is short and this is the chance for the Security Council to show its relevance," Bush said. "And I believe the Security Council will show its relevance because Saddam Hussein has not disarmed."

Aznar said Spain, a rotating member of the Security Council, was "very active in supporting this resolution."

US officials said the United States intended to bring the issue to a vote regardless of its prospects, but they were confident of making a persuasive case.

Bush and Aznar spoke at the president's ranch after a one-hour meeting at which they discussed language of a new resolution and a strategy for passing it. A US official declined to say whether Washington was seeking to harden the "serious consequences" language of the November resolution.

Bush said he and Aznar had held a conference call with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to discuss diplomatic strategy on Iraq.

Although Italy is not a member of the Security Council, a US official said Berlusconi is playing a key role in lobbying European leaders to support the hard-line US stance on Iraq.

Bush, commenting on chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix's order that Iraq destroy missiles with a range exceeding UN limits, said these weapons were "just the tip of the iceberg" in Saddam's arsenal.

"He's got a lot more weapons to destroy," Bush said.

Also on Saturday, the United States and Turkey reached a tentative deal that would allow the basing of US troops in Turkey for a possible attack on neighbouring Iraq, American defense officials told Reuters.

Terms of the deal call for $6 billion in economic aid, of which $1 billion would be used to secure a $10 billion loan.

Turkish officials said the talks were not over and stressed that a final agreement hinged not only on money, but on pledges for the future of Iraq and details of how Turkish forces will operate alongside a US deployment.

Spain and Britain are among the strongest supporters of the US drive for a new resolution to enforce UN demands that Saddam dismantle alleged weapons of mass destruction programs.

Aznar also is a leader of what the White House has described as the "circular diplomacy" of US allies seeking to win Security Council support for a new resolution.

"We hope it (the resolution) is good. And we hope it assembles the greatest possible supporters," Aznar said.

The Spanish leader arrived on Friday for an overnight stay at the Bush ranch in Crawford. A ranch visit is often used by Bush to confer honoured status on key foreign leaders.

On Saturday Bush took to the wheel of his pick-up truck to give Aznar a ranch tour and the two lunched together after their meeting and news conference. Aznar then left the ranch.

Aznar came fresh from a meeting on Thursday with President Vicente Fox of Mexico, a current member of the Security Council. Underscoring the difficulties Bush faces in winning the nine-votes needed to pass a resolution, the Aznar-Fox meeting failed to yield agreement on support for a resolution.

Aznar is due to meet French President Jacques Chirac, who has led international calls to give more time to UN inspectors in Iraq rather than resort to war.

Bush and top aides expect to contact the leaders of each Security Council member country in coming days to lobby for a new resolution.

The United States has repeatedly said time is running out to disarm Iraq peacefully. Some 170,000 US troops have been assembled in the Gulf region near Iraq, with more on the way, and defence officials say they are now ready to invade immediately if ordered.

- REUTERS