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The United Nations Security Council started a closed-door session Friday to discuss a draft resolution presented by the United States to lift sanctions against Iraq.
The meeting was arranged at the request of the United States, which co-sponsored the draft resolution with Britain and Spain, two staunch proponents of the US-led war on Iraq.
Before heading into the meeting, Council President Munir Akram of Pakistan told reporters that the US and British ambassadors to the UN were expected to formally present the resolution and explain its provisions at the session.
He said the proposal requires study before any judgement could be made and the council would take up the issue some time next week.
Under the draft resolution, a US-British provisional authority would govern Iraq for at least 12 months and have the power to manage Iraq's oil revenues.
In a letter to Akram late Thursday, US Ambassador to the UN John Negroponte said the United Nations "has a vital role to play in providing humanitarian relief, in supporting the reconstruction of Iraq, and in helping in the formation of an Iraqi interim authority."
But the US measure only gives the World Body a limited advisory role in overseeing the spending of Iraq's oil income.
Analysts believe the proposal could face a rough road in the 15-nation council.
(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2003)
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