Suggesting changes to the United States' draft resolution on Iraq in the UN Security Council, France, Germany and Russia have proposed a reduction in the US role in the war-ravaged country and a lead role for the UN in accelerating the process of restoring Iraqi sovereignty.
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Two sets of amendments - one drafted by France and Germany and the other by Russia - were submitted in the UNSC ahead of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's meeting with foreign ministers of five permanent members of the council in Geneva on Saturday.
The proposed changes aim to give the United Nations a strong mandate to supervise the political process and arrange elections.
The French-German amendments call for 'immediate' initiation of a process under the UN supervision for restoring 'full Iraqi sovereignty' and putting control of all resources as also international assistance under the Iraqi authority.
The Russian amendments are milder as they call for the Iraqi authority gradually assuming more powers as it moves towards elections and developing a timetable for establishing a fully representative Iraqi government.
The United States, diplomats say, is unlikely to agree to the amendments in their present form but it could mark the beginning of hard negotiations.
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