THE United States might be prepared to have UN sanctions against Iraq suspended, rather than lifted altogether, Colin Powell said yesterday in an apparent attempt to gain Russian and French support.

Speaking during a visit to Russia, General Powell, the US Secretary of State, appeared to strike a conciliatory note as the US seeks to steer a resolution through the UN Security Council that would establish a legal basis for the role of the US and Britain in postwar Iraq.

The White House moved swiftly to “clarify” General Powell’s comments, saying that the US position on UN sanctions remained unchanged: it was still seeking a complete lifting of all embargoes on Iraq.

However, General Powell’s comments raised hopes that a compromise might yet be found, with a revised resolution that clarifies the role of the UN in Iraq and the legal status of the country’s oil revenues, which are urgently needed to fund its reconstruction.

General Powell spoke after talks in Russia failed to resolve differences with President Putin over the sanctions, which the Kremlin says cannot be scrapped until Iraq has been certified free of weapons of mass destruction.

General Powell told a news conference yesterday that scrapping the economic and oil embargoes was preferable, “but we will look at the idea of initially suspending sanctions”.

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