America and Britain battle for support

On the brink of war: UN Security Council

The US and Britain suffered a setback yesterday as they embarked on a weekend of persuasion and arm-twisting for votes in favour of a second UN Security Council resolution threatening war on Iraq.

Despite a telephone appeal by George Bush, Chile's President Ricardo Lagos, whose country has a Security Council seat, said the 17 March deadline for Iraqi disarmament was too short, and that UN weapons inspectors should be given more time.

"As a last resort, we must be willing to use military force," Mr Bush said in his weekly radio address yesterday, but no one yesterday in the corridors of the UN dared to predict what will happen. The omens for the Anglo-American resolution hardly looked good. "We are heading for sure disaster," one diplomat said under his breath.

Yet neither London nor Washington were ready to give up hope that they could at the last moment collect the minimum nine votes that will be needed for the resolution to pass. Both governments were working the diplomatic channels at full tilt this weekend to try to win over the six waverers in the Council.

Even beyond the mathematics of the nine votes, however, there still loomed the very real threat that one of the other permanent five members would shoot down the resolution with a veto. Russia came very close last night to vowing to do just that.

"Russia will do everything not to allow this resolution in the UN Security Council," Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov said after returning to Moscow from New York. Asked whether Russia would indeed use its veto, Mr Fedotov replied, "How we do it is an operational question."

The National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, may go to Russia to lobby President Vladimir Putin in person. The Secretary of State, Colin Powell, could also be sent to visit undecided Security Council members, but France, the main opponent of the US-British resolution is doing the same, sending its foreign minister on quick trips to Guinea, Cameroon and Angola, beginning today.

In the campaign of diplomatic persuasion, Britain was seizing on a new 173-page document released by Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector, an historical overview of the all the outstanding questions regarding weapons that Iraq may still possess. It appears to paint a much bleaker picture than the moderately upbeat one presented by Mr Blix to Council members on Friday, when he said Iraq was making progress on disarming.

In the report, Mr Blix notes that Iraq may possess about 10,000 litres of anthrax, Scud missile warheads filled with deadly biological and chemical agents, and drones capable of flying far beyond a 93-mile limit. There is particular alarm at the Pentagon about Iraq drones, which could be used for spraying chemical and biological agents.

"The strong presumption," Mr Blix says in his report, "is that about 10,000 litres of anthrax was not destroyed and may still exist ... Iraq currently possesses the technology and materials, including fermenters, bacterial growth media and seed stock, to enable it to produce anthrax."

The head of the Arab League, Amr Mousa, who sat in on Friday's Security Council meeting, said a League delegation would travel soon to Baghdad to discuss the crisis with President Saddam. Issues could include persuading him to go into exile.