The United States has circulated the third revised draft resolution on Iraq, requesting the Iraqi Governing Council to provide by Dec. 15 a timetable for the return of Iraqi sovereignty, informed diplomatic sources said here Sunday.

The draft would regard the Governing Council and its ministers as "the principal body of the Iraqi interim administration which will embody the sovereignty of the state of Iraq during the transitional period," said the sources who had read the new draft.

The US-installed governing council would be invited to present to the Security Council "no later than Dec. 15" a timetable and a program for the drafting of a new constitution for Iraq and for the holding of the democratic elections under that constitution, they said.

The resolution would ask the Security Council to review the requirement and mission of the multinational force one year after its adoption, the sources said.

Under the new draft, the United Nations should "strengthen" its vital role in Iraq and would provide assistance, "as circumstances permit," during Iraq's constitutional and electoral process, they said.

The new draft also calls for a quick establishment of an international board to monitor the Iraqi Development Fund, in which Iraq's oil revenues are deposited, they noted.

The latest amendment was submitted after the second revised version drew harsh criticism from United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other Security Council members, notably France, Russia and Germany.

Annan's unexpected opposition dealt a heavy blow to the US diplomatic efforts to get a new resolution on Iraq, which would urge the international community to contribute troops and money for the war-torn nation.

Annan, along with France, Germany and Russia, wants Iraqis to get sovereignty first and only later write a constitution and then hold elections. But the United States favors a reverse order that would set out a later transfer of power to Iraqis.

The Security Council may convene to discuss the new draft Monday, the sources said.

Washington has sought to get the resolution passed by the Security Council before the Oct. 23-24 Madrid conference aiming to raise funds for rebuilding Iraq.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Friday that he would know by Monday if the new changes could gain support at the Security Council and then he might decide whether to pull the draft.
 
(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2003)