Britain and US still need to win five UN votes
Security council Pro-war countries plan intensive lobbying of waverers to back second resolution
Ewen MacAskill, February 14, 2003,The Guardian

The US and Britain would fail to secure a majority for a United Nations resolution authorising war against Iraq if the vote was to be held today, according to a Guardian survey of security council members.
Only four countries - Britain, the US, Bulgaria and Spain - would vote in favour. The remainder of the 15-member council would either vote against or abstain.

Nine votes are required to secure a resolution. Success also requires that none of the five permanent members - the US, Britain, France, Russia or China - exercises its veto.

The US and Britain expressed confidence yesterday that they can turn the security council around through intensive lobbying at the UN headquarters in New York.

But over the last week the anti-war mood in the security council has hardened.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, threatened to use his veto. He told the French press: "If it is necessary, we will use our veto, but I do not think it is helpful to get into debate about this at the moment." [...]
- posted by ARYABHATT @ 8:44 pm