New Delhi, Oct 03: Adopting a wait and watch approach, India today said it will have to see how much more would need to be done to make the US now draft a resolution on Iraq acceptable to all, even as it advocated that to incorporate some of the "basic points" including the issue of UN role and control over Iraq's economic and natural resources. "We don't have any view as yet. It has been just been presented to the P-5 and P-10. The discussions are at initial stages. We will have to see how much more would need to be done to make this acceptable to all concerned," Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal told reporters. Observing that the intention would be to have a resolution which would be passed unanimously, he said "the resolution has to incorporate some of the basic points major countries have been making about the UN role, political process and the deadlines for this, control over Iraq's economic and natural resources and the funds etc. This is an ongoing process. Let us see what happens," he said. France, Russia, Germany and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan have expressed strong reservations on the revised us resolution that emphasises on eventual transfer of power to Iraqis but still leaves the US-led coalition in firm control of Iraq. They want the US-led coalition authority to transfer power within months, preferably by the end of the year, to an expanded governing council.
Annan would like the United Nations to have a clear-cut mandate so that there is no blurring of the responsibilities and also wants the world body to work independently of the coalition.
Bureau Report