By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent

United Nations -- The United Kingdom, United States, and Spain said March 17 they would not call for a U.N. Security Council vote on their draft resolution on Iraq in the face of a threatened French veto.

U.K. Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, making the announcement on behalf of the draft resolution's co-sponsors, said that "in the last few hours we have had to conclude that council consensus will not be possible in line with resolution 1441. One country in particular has underlined its intention to veto any ultimatum no matter what the circumstances."

"That country rejected our proposed compromise before even the Iraqi government itself and has put forward suggestions that would roll back the unanimous agreement of the council in 1441. Those suggestions would amount to no ultimatum, no pressure, and no disarmament," Greenstock said.

"The co-sponsors reserve the right to take their own steps to secure the disarmament of Iraq," he said.

Throughout their brief appearance outside the Security Council chambers, the envoys of the three countries never mentioned France by name. But French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere told journalists last week that his government would never vote for a resolution that contained an ultimatum.

Greenstock concluded by saying that the statements made by the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal March 16 in the Azores "explain our positions."

U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said, "It has been nearly four and a half months since the council unanimously adopted resolution 1441 which found Iraq in material breach and gave it a final opportunity to disarm or face serious consequences. The government of Iraq has clearly failed to comply. Our governments believe that through acts of omission and commission Iraq is now in further material breach."

"We advocated a second resolution because a united council would have shown it was intent on enforcing resolution 1441 and disarming Iraq," Negroponte said.

"We believe that the vote would have been close. We regret that, in the face of an explicit threat to veto by a permanent member, the vote counting became a secondary consideration," he said.

France, Russia, and China, which have veto power in the council, had rejected the draft resolution. Six non-permanent members -- Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Guinea, Mexico, and Pakistan -- had said they were undecided on the draft. Last week the United Kingdom proposed changes in attempt to gain a majority for the draft resolution.

Spanish Ambassador Inocencio Arias said that the draft resolution "established in an unequivocal way that any false statement or omission or sheer fact of not cooperating fully would constitute a further material breach. We believe that the government of Iraq was given a last opportunity and it has squandered it."

Greenstock also pointed out that the co-sponsors "worked very hard in the last few days in a final effort to reunite the council" behind the draft resolution which gave Iraq one final opportunity to disarm by March 17.

The United Kingdom proposed amendments to the draft last week, which would have challenged Iraq to take a strategic decision to disarm, Greenstock said.

"There were three key elements to the compromise we proposed. First: tough, but realizable tests, including an unequivocal commitment by Saddam Hussein. Second: a realistic, but tight timetable for completion for those tests, given the urgent need for Iraq to comply after 12 years of prevarication. And, third: an understanding that if Iraq failed the test, serious consequences would ensue, as set out in resolution 1441."

The Security Council was scheduled to hold private meetings on Iraq throughout the day March 17.