The United States and Britain had considered but not yet drafted a Security Council resolution to welcome a U.S.-Iraqi timetable that ends with a new ratified constitution and an elected federal government by the end of 2005.
But diplomats said the Bush administration was in no mood to negotiate a new measure that would face demands by France, Russia and Germany for a text beyond a simple endorsement. Britain, the envoys said, had not been as categorical in rejecting a resolution this year.
Jalal Talabani, acting president of the U.S.-selected Iraqi Governing Council, appealed to the 15-nation Security Council in a letter on Monday to endorse in a resolution the plan for self-rule. This begins with a new "basic law" in March, selection of a legislative body and transfer of power to a transitional administration by the end of June.