UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The United States, Britain and Spain withdrew their resolution Monday, abandoning efforts to win U.N. backing for a war with Iraq.
British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock blamed France for threatening to veto the resolution which would have issued Iraq with an ultimatum to disarm by Monday or face military action.
"We have had to conclude that council consensus will not be possible," Greenstock said, flanked by U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte.
Negroponte said he thought the vote would have "been close."
"We regret that in the face of an explicit threat to veto the vote counting became a secondary consideration," Negroponte said.
Moments later, French ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said that in one-on-one consultations in the past hours "the majority of the council confirmed they do not want a use of force."
The dramatic announcements at the United Nations, ahead of closed-door talks on the Iraq crisis came less than 24 hours after President Bush declared that Monday would be the last day for diplomacy.
The United States, Britain and Spain put down their resolution last month in the hopes of winning U.N. support to dsarm Iraq by force.
The resolution would have authorized war anytime after Monday unless Iraq proved before then that it had disarmed,
But weeks of intense diplomacy and pressure from the Bush administration failed to convince a majority of the council's 15 members that the time for war had come.
In an effort to change members' positions, Britain offered some amendments but council members weren't swayed.
