U.S. Ambassador John D. Negroponte said it was now apparent that instead of seizing this opportunity, Iraq has tried to continue business as usual. “We have not seen what this Council has insisted on seeing, a strategic decision by Iraq to disarm,” he said. “That is the bar set by resolution 1441, and Iraq is immensely far from reaching that bar, and we all know it.”

The document circulated by France notes that the conditions for using force against Iraq have not been fulfilled since, while suspicions remain, no evidence has been given that Iraq still possesses weapons of mass destruction. The text also stresses that the Council must step up its efforts to give a “real chance to the peaceful settlement of the crisis.”

Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sablière of France told reporters there is no reason for the time being to discuss or to adopt a new resolution. “Our common goal, which is a goal very clearly identified in resolution 1441, is that Iraq should be disarmed,” he said. “And it is very clear that the priority is that Iraq should be disarmed peacefully. Now, the time has not come to discuss if all of these options have been exhausted. The time has not come to discuss a military option.”