President Jacques Chirac insisted UN arms inspectors should be given all the time and resources needed to disarm Iraq peacefully, reaffirming the French view that "war is the worst of all options".

"There is still a lot that can and needs to be done on disarmament through peaceful means," Chirac, whose country holds a veto in the UN Security Council, told a joint news conference.

"We will only adopt a position when we believe nothing further can be achieved there -- and we are a long way off that," he said, refusing to agree with Washington and London that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has just weeks to disarm or face war.

In stark contrast, Blair put repeated emphasis on the timing of a February 14 report by UN arms inspectors that will follow Wednesday's presentation by US Secretary of State Colin Powell of alleged proof that Baghdad is hiding banned weapons.

"We will make our judgments then," Blair, standing next to Chirac, said of the February 14 report. When pressed again, he said^ The summit comes ahead of what could be a key visit to France next week by Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country is another Security Council veto-holder with deep misgivings over war.

No Magic Wand

Chirac appeared to rule out speculation that Paris would fall in behind Washington and London soon.

"We have different approaches...You can't wave a magic wand for them to disappear overnight," he said.

One British official denied on the margins of the summit that Blair, who has just returned from Washington from talks with US President George W. Bush, was setting a deadline for war by focusing on February 14.

Both have said Saddam has weeks not months to disarm and have reserved the right to attack without a fresh mandate from the Security Council.

Blair admitted there were differences with France but said they agreed that disarming Iraq was "best pursued" through the United Nations. Chirac, more firmly, said it had to be undertaken within the Security Council.

Paris has also resisted the conclusion of Washington and London that inspectors' reports already show Baghdad in "material breach" of a UN disarmament resolution, a view which potentially paves the way for war.

Efforts by France and Germany to form an anti-war axis were undermined last week when other European leaders, including Blair, signed a letter declaring their support for the US position, sparking speculation Chirac might jump ship.

Chirac and Blair stressed the friendly atmosphere of the talks, but discussions on Iraq could not have been helped by a diplomatic tussle over Chirac's move to invite Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe to a French-African summit this month.

Britain insists the visit flouts EU sanctions imposed over alleged election rigging, but has conceded the timing of the February 21 trip -- two days after the first set of sanctions expires -- means they can do little to stop it.

Neither Blair nor Chirac made direct reference to the spat.

The Le Touquet summit was originally set for December but was postponed after reports of a war of words between Chirac and Blair over a Franco-German deal to postpone EU farm aid reform.

While Chirac and Blair conceded the two still disagreed on farm aid -- from which Paris is the major beneficiary -- the two said they agreed on other EU issues and signed a declaration on boosting efforts for a common European defence force.

The declaration, which comes four years after Paris and London signed a key military cooperation deal, will call for new efforts to create a European Rapid Reaction Force and back moves to pool military equipment such as aircraft carriers.

(China Daily February 5, 2003)