United Nations ? Despite President Bush’s call for a quick U.N. resolution, the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council still are divided on whether to authorize military action if Iraq doesn’t comply with U.N. weapons inspectors.

The five permanent members met for two hours late Tuesday, with the United States and Britain demanding a green light to attack Iraq in case it blocks inspectors again and France, Russia and China insisting that Saddam Hussein should first be given a chance to cooperate.

High-level negotiations were also continuing among the five capitals, and the 10 Security Council nations that are elected for two-year terms have still not seen a draft resolution.

“We are making progress,” a U.S. official said after Tuesday’s meeting at the U.S. Mission, speaking on condition of anonymity. Other council diplomats refused to comment. Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Sergey Lavrov said only, “We will meet (again) when we know what we are going to discuss.”

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock said, “There is no piece of paper being put down in the council at this moment and I would suggest to you there may not be for a few days yet.”

Some diplomats suggested that the United States was focusing on first getting the U.S. Congress to approve a resolution to authorize Bush to use force against Iraq. The administration hopes the resolution will be approved later this week.

“I think we will then see some movement toward completing the business here,” Greenstock said.