Franco-German pact to present a peaceful way of ending Iraq crisis

Germany revealed yesterday that a Franco-German initiative aimed at peacefully resolving the Iraq crisis would be put before the UN Security Council this week in a clear snub to the United States and its plans for military action.

The Franco-German plan, which was leaked to Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, envisages the deployment of several thousand UN troops in Iraq to back up a vastly increased number of weapons inspectors who would oversee the removal of weapons of mass destruction.

The proposal would turn Iraq into a de facto UN protectorate for an indefinite period and render the country a no-fly zone patrolled by French Mirage jets. According to German sources, it would not automatically require the removal of Saddam Hussein.

Peter Struck, the German Defence Minister, said: "We hope the initiative will meet with a positive response when it is presented to the UN security council on 14 February." He added that Germany was ready and willing to send troops to join such a mission.

American officials in Munich were intitially critical of the Franco-German plan yesterday. They said it did not meet Washington's views that the number of weapons inspectors was not the key issue affecting future procedure in Iraq.

Approval is likely to come from Russia and China, which have also demanded the weapons inspectors be given more time. The Franco- German plan was raised by Dominique de Villepin, France's Foreign Minister, in response to Colin Powell's speech last week to the Council when he provided "irrefutable" evidence that Iraq was failing to disarm. M. Villepin replied with a contrary plan to reinforce the inspections, not abandon them. "The use of force can only be final recourse," he said.

Last month, the French Government said it would press other European states to oppose American plans and do their utmost to prevent military action.

In a meeting of foreign ministers at the Security Council, M. Villepin won support from his Chinese and German counterparts when he said: "Nothing today justifies envisaging military action."

The Americans have been angered by the content of the Franco-German plan and by the fact that it seems to have been hatched in secret. It was not mentioned to Mr Rumsfeld during a private session with Peter Struck at a conference in Munich yesterday.