The United States has presented its revised resolution on Iraq to a full meeting of the UN Security Council for the first time.
The revised draft does not seek explicit authorisation for military action if Iraq does not comply with weapons inspections. However, it leaves the door open for such action by declaring Iraq in "material breach" of UN resolutions and threatening serious consequences for non compliance.
The resolution requires majority support from the 15 members as well as no vetoes from any of the five permanent members. However, Russia has already indicated its opposition to the new text.
