The United States will hold closed-door consultations Tuesday with the other four Security Council permanent members -- China, Russia, France and Britain -- on a draft resolution seeking council recognition of the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, diplomats in the United Nations said.

There were minor changes to the wording in the draft resolution which was circulated among permanent council members by the United States last Friday, one of the diplomats revealed.

He said the amended draft still seeks the council's endorsement of the 25-member Iraqi body, which was installed on July 13 in Baghdad.

According to another source, France and Russia presented amendments to the provision which would "endorse" the Governing Council, with France proposing using "take note of" and Russia using "welcome" to describe the council's reaction to the creation of the Iraqi body.

The five permanent members, which also include the United States, were expected to finalize the text during the meeting, which is due to take place at 4:00 pm (2000 GMT).

The resolution would also authorize the establishment of a UN assistance mission coordinate UN activities in Iraq, as recommended earlier by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
 
(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2003)