Iraqis approve handover schedule

By Greg Barrow BBC correspondent at the UN

The Iraqi Governing Council has written a letter to the UN Security Council setting out a timetable for a return to self-rule.

The letter confirms a series of dates and deadlines agreed by American and British officials earlier this month.

It also calls for a new UN Security Council resolution.

The letter, written by current council President Jalal Talabani, confirms the intention to elect a new transitional government by the end of June 2004.

The body will then make preparations for a constitutional convention and ultimately general elections before the end of 2005.

Differences

There have been regular attacks on Iraqi infrastructure

Mr Talabani notes in his letter that in the light of the new circumstances it has become appropriate for the Security Council to adopt a new resolution.

Although security council diplomats are discussing this possibility, at this stage views on what may be required differ widely.

American and British diplomats are said to favour a short resolution merely welcoming the publication of the timetable to self-rule.

But other members, such as France, Russia and Germany, argue that any new resolution should emphasise the central role of the United Nations in the transition process.

They also urge wider political participation by groups, including Iraqi nationalists and former Baath party members who were once loyal to Saddam Hussein.