Foes of war will back resolution

Germany's chancellor said the draft is a step in the right direction.
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Germany, France and Russia -- Europe's leading opponents to the U.S.-led war in Iraq -- said today they will vote in favor of the U.N. resolution on Iraq in a bid to restore international solidarity to the reconstruction effort.
But in a blow to Washington's hopes that the resolution would attract troops and money to stabilize the country, leaders of the three countries ruled out any military commitments for now. They also fudged on financial contributions.
French diplomats said France and Germany have agreed to train Iraqi police either in the country or in Europe, but declined to say how much they will commit financially to that training program.
They said both countries will attend the donors' conference in Madrid, Spain, next week, however.
Decision made
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, French President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Vladimir Putin made their decision during a 45-minute conference call, Schroeder said.
"We agreed that the resolution is really an important step in the right direction," he said.
At a news conference in Brussels, where he and Chirac were attending a summit of European Union leaders, Schroeder said that the three found their concerns about the speed and direction of Iraqi reconstruction and restoring sovereignty were reflected in Washington's latest draft.
"We noted that the resolution is a further important step in the right direction," he said. "Many things have been included from what we proposed. This led us ... to jointly agree to the resolution."
Schroeder added, however, that neither Germany, France nor Russia is "in a position to engage ourselves militarily" or with "material engagement."
He said not all disagreements over Iraq's reconstruction had been overcome, but he did not elaborate.
Transfer of power
Although the U.N. Security Council remains divided on how fast to transfer power to Iraqis and who should oversee Iraq's political transition from a dictatorship to a democracy, the compromise appeared to be part of an effort to send a more united message on the importance of returning an independent Iraq to the family of nations.
"Above all, the unity of the international community must be preserved as much as possible," Chirac spokeswoman Catherine Colonna said.
However, she also added that the three countries "are very far from being able to commit themselves financially or militarily" to he reconstruction of Iraq.
From Putin
Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Putin spokesman Alexei Gromov in Malaysia, where Putin is attending another summit, as saying that the three discussed the resolution and "the positions of Russia, France and Germany on this issue have been agreed."
"The ambassadors of the three countries will immediately receive the corresponding instructions," it said without elaborating.
Discussing draft
Washington agreed to postpone Wednesday's vote at the United Nations by a day so Chirac, Schroeder and Putin could discuss the final draft and decide whether to support it.
U.S. officials had said they expected Russia to vote "yes" today, and probably Germany as well. France, the most outspoken critic of Washington's Iraq policies, also had not been ruled out. China also indicated it might support the resolution.
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