"The proposal raises a number of questions, the first is why it was presented only by the United Kingdom and not by all the sponsors," German Ambassador Gunter Pleuger to the United Nations told reports after the UN Security Council met behind closed doors on a UK non-paper proposal on Iraq.

He said the question has to be cleared up because if a solution should be found with assistance of the so-called "benchmarks," German has to be sure who feels bound by the proposal.

He stressed that benchmarks have to be "realistic," suggesting the time limit set in the US-UK-Spain draft resolution is too tight.

"To fulfill a benchmark, you need certain time," he said. "We just heard that the date set in the resolution in blue of March 17 still stands, what kind of benchmark could be fulfilled in such a short period of time?"

He said that even if a few more days could be added, the question remains as to whether such benchmark can be fulfilled and have enough credibility.

He raised a third question about the status of the British non-paper. "So far, it is a sort of non-paper, and nobody knows exactly how that could be combined with the draft resolution that is on the table right now."

US Ambassador John Negroponte told reporters after the council meeting that his government "would not backed away from the deadline" set in the joint draft resolution.

He said that the British proposal which is in the form of a non-paper does not stand for a formal proposal, "the (draft) resolution is still the only draft on the table," he noted.

However, he denied that the two allies had any difference and commended his UK counterpart in his efforts to bridge the gap. "We concurred in the submission of the non-paper," he said.

He did not ruled out any possibility to change the text, saying the United States may consider extending the deadline "very, very, very briefly on a day-to-day basis."

In a desperate pursuit of a critical mass support for the new draft, Britain proposed six tests for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to be included in a new amendment.

The six proposed tests are: A public statement by Saddam admitting possession and concealment of his weapons of mass destruction and a pledge to disarm, a commitment to allow Iraqi scientists to be interviewed outside Iraq, surrender and explain stores of anthrax, surrender and explain production facilities for biological weapons, commitment to destroy proscribed missiles, and account for drone aircraft.

(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2003)