Japan will probably back a new resolution on Iraq that the United States and Britain are planning to submit to the U.N. Security Council, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Monday.
The resolution will note that Iraq has violated U.N. resolutions for the past 12 years and failed to comply with UNSC resolution 1441, adopted in November, the official said.
Resolution 1441 gave Iraq a final opportunity to abandon its weapons of mass destruction.
During a visit to Japan at the weekend, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell called on Japan to support the planned resolution, which the official said would be submitted at noon Monday in New York.
“If the resolution says what Mr. Powell has said, Japan will show support,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
Japan will then step up its efforts to persuade members of the U.N. Security Council to support the resolution, especially nonpermanent members of the council that benefit from official development assistance from Tokyo, he said.
Among the 15 members of the U.N. Security Council, Japan offered ODA to nine countries — including Chile, Mexico and Pakistan — in 2000.
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