France today pledged to back a United Nations resolution on the transfer of power in Iraq after the United States and Britain made changes that addressed its concerns.
The decision by France, which has the power of veto on the UN Security Council and opposed the war in Iraq, cleared the way for Security Council approval later this afternoon.
Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said France was still not fully satisfied with the resolution but added: "This will not prevent us giving a positive vote in New York to constructively find a political way out of this tragedy.
"For the first time in this matter there has been a real dialogue," he told France Inter radio. "Our demands were listened to. A lot of our ideas are in the text."
France backed the text because it includes changes on Iraq's powers on security and natural resources, sets a clear political calendar and lays out the relationship between the government and a multinational force in Iraq, diplomatic sources said.
Most diplomats expect a unanimous 15-0 vote when the council meets later today. Germany and Spain said they would vote for the resolution. China, another veto-wielding member of the Security Council, has welcomed changes made to the proposed text.
US President George W. Bush and French President Jacques Chirac discussed the text in Paris on Saturday and played down their differences over Iraq. They predicted the resolution would be passed soon, although Russia said it was not entirely happy.
The resolution would give international legitimacy to a new Iraqi interim government and authorises a US-led multinational force, now at 160,000 troops.
At issue was how much control Baghdad's new leaders would have over major US-run military operations after the June 30th transfer of power to Iraq's new government. France, backed by Germany, Algeria and others, had wanted the resolution to spell out that Iraq's leaders could exercise a virtual veto over US-led "sensitive offensive operations".
Washington rejected this but agreed to write a paragraph setting down the same relationship between Iraq and the US command contained in letters between Iraq and the United States.
Washington has been seeking a vote early this week so that disputes over the resolution do not overshadow a summit by the Group of Eight industrial nations in Sea Island, Georgia.
But tensions remains in US-French ties despite France's acceptance of the resolution. France thwarted Mr Bush's attempt to secure a Security Council resolution last year authorising war against Iraq and is refusing to send troops to Iraq.