Speculation is growing as to whether the US and its allies will stop seeking a fresh UN resolution against Iraq before launching military action.

Spain, which is co-sponsoring a draft resolution along with the US and UK, indicated on Wednesday there was little point in putting a motion forward that was already destined to fail.

"Not submitting the resolution is a possibility given the French determination to use its veto, because such a veto would have consequences on the UN system," the Spanish Foreign Minister, Ana Palacio, said after a brief trip to Paris.

Pressed on the issue, her UK counterpart Jack Straw failed to quash the mounting speculation that the allies were indeed contemplating a withdrawal of the resolution.

The BBC's Andrew Marr says the reasons why a withdrawal may now be desirable are clear.

Trying and failing to secure a resolution before launching a war may be even more perilous than never trying at all, he says.

In addition, it may be illegal to start military action having been explicitly refused support.

'Desirable'

The US has consistently made clear that, while it would welcome a second resolution against Iraq, it would lead a "coalition of the willing" into war without explicit UN backing if necessary.

But UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Washington's closest ally on the issue, has remained keen to secure a second resolution - particularly given the mounting British opposition to war.

Nine of the 15 Security Council members must approve the motion for it to pass and there must be no veto.

Correspondents say there is intense pressure from both sides of the divided Council on members who have not declared which way they will vote.

In Chile - one of the apparently undecided countries - President Ricardo Lagos hinted that his nation was leaning towards voting against.

Russia and France - permanent, veto-wielding members of the Council - have already made it clear they would be prepared to block a resolution leading automatically to war.

On Wednesday, Mr Blair insisted that the "legal base" for war had already been established in Resolution 1441 passed unanimously in November last year.

That resolution ordered Iraq to declare any weapons of mass destruction and accept the return of weapons inspectors, or face "serious consequences".

The US and UK insist the resolution has already been breached, accusing Baghdad of failing to account for all its arms.

Wooing voters

Despite the speculation that a resolution may never be tabled, the UK has nonetheless been proposing amendments to its draft motion which it hopes will make it more palatable to Security Council members.

 

 

These involve attaching six conditions that Iraq must fulfil before a deadline to avoid war.

The six new tests of disarmament include demands for Saddam Hussein to make a public statement admitting he has weapons of mass destruction and for Baghdad to allow scientists to be questioned abroad before a set deadline.

Washington has however refused to state explicitly whether it backs these six tests, and made clear again on Wednesday that it was growing increasingly frustrated with the diplomatic process.

"The president has given diplomacy a certain amount of time. He will not give it forever," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

On Tuesday, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld controversially suggested the US could go to war without Britain.

 

London sought to play down the remarks, and Mr Blair insisted that it was in the British national interest to take action against Iraq.

Nonetheless, the remarks have been interpreted as a clear sign that the US is not prepared to wait around for the British to secure a resolution.

In other developments:

In Turkey, police clash with protesters opposed to the possible use of Turkish bases by American troops

The UN orders its international staff out of the Kurdish-held area of northern Iraq - evacuation is expected to take place on Thursday

Former US President Bill Clinton tells a convention that he believes war can be avoided if the US backs a British resolution

The EU warns it might be unwilling to fund reconstruction of Iraq if war is waged without UN backing

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov says a war in Iraq will complicate matters elsewhere

Baghdad says a drone - which the US claims could be used to deliver chemical and biological agents - is only a prototype and flew only three kilometres (1.9 miles) on its test flight.