Security Council meets in shadow of war

11.45 am - by DAVID USBORNE

NEW YORK - France and Russia bluntly condemned the move towards war against Iraq today, accusing London and Washington of going far beyond UN resolutions in seeking to overthrow Saddam Hussein and risking an upsurge in terrorism because of their actions.

The attacks came at a sombre meeting of the Security Council attended by foreign ministers of those countries most opposed to the use of force against Iraq.

With war imminent, Secretary General Kofi Annan called it a "sad day for the United Nations and the international community".

Igor Ivanov, the Russian Foreign Minister, declared that Britain and the US were violating the UN Charter with their determination to invade Iraq.

He reflected the feelings of many at the UN that past resolutions on Iraq were specifically focused on disarming Iraq, not removing Saddam, and that the goalposts had been moved by Washington in particular.

"Not one of these decisions authorises the right to use force against Iraq outside the UN Charter," an angry Mr Ivanov said.

"Not one of them authorises the violent overthrow of the leadership of a sovereign state." Earlier, Mr Ivanov posed for the cameras beside his French and German counterparts, Dominique de Villepin and Joschka Fischer, to symbolise their common front in opposing war.

Mr de Villepin meanwhile openly questioned the argument repeatedly put forward over recent days by President George Bush that military punishment of Iraq would help combat terrorism.

"To those who think that the scourge of terrorism will be eradicated through what is done in Iraq, we say that they run the risk of failing in their objective," he argued.

"An outbreak of force in such an unstable area can only exacerbate the tensions and fractures on which terrorists feed."

The debate had an almost surreal air, however, with every delegation fully aware that the momentum to war was unstoppable and that nothing anyone said in the Council chamber would change that fact.

The debate was singularly grim, as if the body had been sucked of its power and relevance.

"Germany emphatically rejects impending war," Mr Fischer stated.

"Under the current circumstances, the policy of military intervention has no credibility." And echoing the complaints of Mr Ivanov, he added: "There is no basis in the UN Charter for a regime change with military means."

Mr Annan pointed to the plight of the Iraqi people who face both war and the suspension of the UN's oil-for-food programme that has come to support about 60 per cent of the population.

"In the short term, the conflict that is now clearly about to start can only make things worse - perhaps much worse," he warned.

He also served notice to the United States and Britain, without naming them, that they would have to shoulder the burden of sustaining the Iraqi population.

"Under international law, the responsibility for protecting civilians in conflict falls on the belligerents," he noted.

"Under military occupation, responsibility for the welfare of the population falls on the occupying power".

Under Mr Annan, however, the UN is galvanising to assist in efforts to channel humanitarian supplies into the country by using Iraqi funds from the oil-for-food programme.

Mr Annan said that after asking for $123.5 million from donors to support that effort several weeks ago, the UN has so far only received $34 million.

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Herald Feature: Iraq