Straw fails to secure Arab support for UN resolution

Britain was rebuffed by Arab leaders yesterday as the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, attempted to drum up international support for a new United Nations resolution on Iraq that could pave the way for a military invasion.

Egypt and Jordan insisted that Saddam Hussein's acceptance of the return of weapons inspectors meant the standoff could be resolved under existing UN resolutions.

However as negotiations continued among the UN Security Council powers on a new resolution, it appeared that key states were narrowing their differences on the need to open up all suspect weapons sites to the inspectors – including presidential compounds. The major focus of the negotiations is on the trigger for military action, on which Russia and France have strong reservations.

Under the American draft, backed by Britain, any UN member could launch a military strike if it concluded Iraq had violated new Security Council demands relating to its suspected weapons of mass destruction.Mr Straw, who is on a four-day tour of Arab capitals, was told by the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher in Cairo that there was no need to "rewrite the rules in the middle of the game".

In both Egypt and Jordan, Mr Straw was told that the priority should be the early return of the inspectors, not military action to overthrow President Saddam.

King Abdullah of Jordan said: "Jordan hopes that the acceptance by Iraq of the return of the inspectors will lead to the implementation of all UN decisions linked to the Gulf War and will contribute to lower the tension and avoid a new conflict in the region."

Echoing the words of US President George Bush, who outlined his Iraq strategy in a speech on US television on Monday, Mr Straw said: "Use of force in Iraq is not inevitable. President Bush made that crystal clear in his speech yesterday, which I greatly welcome." President Bush, in his 25-minute speech in Cincinnati, called President Saddam a "homicidal dictator" and said that his "nuclear holy warriors" could have developed a nuclear weapon within a year.

Iraq dismissed the speech, in which Mr Bush said Iraq may be planning to attack the US with biological or chemical weapons, as "lies". The Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said: "The speech contained misleading information through which Bush is trying to justify an illogical and illegitimate attack on Iraq."

In Moscow, the Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov hinted his government was moving closer to the US position in its draft resolution regarding access to suspect weapons sites.

"If proposals aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the activities of international inspectors in Iraq are brought to the UN Security Council, we will support them," Mr Ivanov said. However, he warned against "artificial obstacles".

The Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov stressed that any new UN resolution on Iraq must not provide for the automatic use of force and must not contain tough measures that Baghdad could not accept.

The French Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, making his first speech on Iraq to the French National Assembly, agreed that Iraq represents a "potential threat" to the region but warned that force should only be used as a last resort.