UNITED NATIONS — The United States immediately rejected a proposal by Chile on Friday to give Saddam Hussein a last chance to disarm peacefully, leaving no compromise in sight and casting further doubt on any U.N. backing for war.
Some diplomats said privately that diplomacy was dead and the only question left was whether President Bush and his British and Spanish counterparts would decide at their summit Sunday to drop their resolution giving Saddam a Monday ultimatum to prove Iraq is disarming or face bloodshed — or put it to a vote and face certain defeat. Nine votes — and no vetoes — are needed to pass.
Although council diplomats met one-on-one and in small groups, no meeting of the 15 members was scheduled, a sign there was nothing left to discuss. Two lengthy and tense sessions earlier in the week and a new British proposal failed to bridge the deep chasm in the council.
The United States rejected the Chilean proposal within minutes of President Ricardo Lagos' announcement in Santiago, because it didn't include an ultimatum for war or a trigger for military action if Saddam fails to comply with the disarmament demands.
That issue, more than others, is dividing the council. France, Russia and China — all of which have veto power and want weapons inspections to continue — earlier rejected a British six-step proposal for Saddam to avert war because it would give a green light for military action if he didn't complete the "to-do" list.
Chile's proposal, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, would give Iraq up to 30 days to complete five disarmament tasks. The council would then judge the efforts and decide whether to continue U.N. inspections or subject Iraq to the "serious consequences" it promised in November if Saddam fails to fully cooperate.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer noted that the administration had previously dismissed similar proposals. "If it was a nonstarter then, it's a nonstarter now," he said.
Even though there was nothing viable on the table Friday that could unify the council, nobody was giving up yet, at least publicly.
"It's not over until it is over," said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "I still have hope."
"We're going to continue to work," said British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock.
"As long as there's 1 percent possibility for peace, we'll continue with our efforts," China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Yingfan said after meeting France's deputy ambassador. "We cannot give up hope."
But when asked if there was still 1 percent, he replied: "Everybody knows what's happening in that part of the world, such a big mass of the troops."
Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix, meanwhile, received a 25-page letter from Iraq Friday night on VX nerve agent. The letter was half in English, half in Arabic, and would have to be studied, said Blix's spokesman, Ewen Buchanan.
Iraq had promised a letter on anthrax as well, but Buchanan made no mention of that.
The Chilean proposal, a working draft, was still being worked on by Chile and the five other uncommitted nations on the council whose votes were considered crucial to supporters and opponents of the U.S.-backed resolution authorizing war — Angola, Cameroon, Guinea, Mexico and Pakistan.
Chile's disarmament list for Iraq was similar to the British proposal — but it didn't require Saddam to make a television appearance. Instead, the Iraqi leadership would have to write a letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council stating "that Iraq will without delay" hand over all prohibited weapons and answer all outstanding questions from U.N. inspectors.
Within 30 days, Iraq would have to allow at least 30 Iraqi scientists to be interviewed abroad by U.N. arms inspectors, prove that it has destroyed all mustard gas shells and bombs, clarify the whereabouts of 10,000 liters of missing anthrax, destroy all remaining Al Samoud 2 missiles and their components, and provide documentation on the purpose of remotely piloted vehicles, known as drones.
Several council members, including Russia and France, have said the inspectors — not council nations — must decide any disarmament tasks for Iraq.
Blix is expected to present the Security Council with his list of top priority questions that Iraq must answer about its chemical, biological and missile programs as early as Tuesday.
The list of about a dozen items, including those on the British and Chilean list, must be approved by the Security Council.