Deal on Iraq resolution "very close"

[Gregz]

Deal on Iraq resolution "very close"

By Steve Holland

PARIS (Reuters) - The United States is "very close" to securing an agreement on a draft United Nations resolution on the future of Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has said.

He said he expected the remaining issues could be resolved "in the next couple of days".

His comments on Saturday came after U.S. President George W. Bush said during a trip to Italy he was confident of reaching an accord soon on the basis of a new draft. But Russia said work was still needed to win approval within the U.N. Security Council.

"As of this morning, we are very, very close to completing the work," Powell told reporters travelling on Bush's plane to Paris following talks in Rome.

A new text submitted on Friday by Britain and the United States outlines the handover of power in Iraq to the new Iraqi government. France and Russia, veto-holding members of the Council who opposed the war in Iraq, had called for changes.

Powell said he expected a breakthrough after Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi sent a letter on Saturday to the Security Council making various suggestions as to how military operations in Iraq can be subject to a political review.

"With the receipt of the Allawi letter, this puts us much closer to the finishing line," Powell said on the way to Paris, where Bush will meet President Jacques Chirac.

The new text submitted on Friday requires a Security Council resolution for a pullout of U.S. troops before early 2006.

But it says the council "will terminate" the mandate if requested by authorities in Iraq -- even before elections set to take place by January 2005.

In Rome, Bush told reporters before heading for France that he sensed a "spirit of unity" with other countries on how the Iraqi government should function.

"I'm confident we will get one soon," he said of a resolution.

In Moscow, Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov said changes in the resolution giving Iraq's new leaders the right to send home U.S.-led troops met Russia's reservations, but the document still required further discussion.

"The revised resolution certainly takes account of concerns expressed by Russia and other Security Council members and offers concessions in terms of its content," Fedotov told Interfax news agency said.

But he added: "So far we cannot say that it satisfies us entirely. We therefore believe further work is vital to reach agreement."

Fedotov said the main issue was the effect the resolution would have on the situation in Iraq and whether it would "lead to significant improvement". Russia is pursuing "intensive consultations" with other Council members, he said.