He told reporters that he had assured the sponsors that China will study that draft very carefully. "We fully agree with the contents of that memorandum, but I also stressed that despite all the differences we experienced inside the council, however, I still found some common ground like implementation of resolution 1441, disarmament issue in Iraq."

The Security Council met Monday afternoon after the three countries submitted a memorandum calling for a step-by-step disarmament of Iraq through peaceful means.

Meanwhile, a draft resolution, cosponsored by the United States, Britain and Spain to set the stage for war against Iraq, declared that Baghdad has failed to take advantage the final opportunity to disarm peacefully.

The draft, to be introduced formally to all the 15 members of the UN Security Council, set no deadlines but noted that the council has warned Iraq "it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations of its obligations."

(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2003)