Moscow ? Russia, saying it will push for a central U.N. role in Iraq, began consulting Saturday with other Security Council members over a proposed U.S. plan that relegates the United Nations to a largely advisory position.

Russia and France — two leading opponents of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq — have said they had questions about Washington’s proposal for a U.N. resolution on ruling postwar Iraq.

Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov said that in particular the draft failed “to provide a clear picture of the transition from the U.N.’s oil-for-food program to the lifting of international sanctions against Iraq.”

During discussions of the U.S. proposal, Moscow will again “underscore the need for the United Nations’ central role in this process,” Fedotov said, according to the Interfax news agency.

But objections have so far been muted, with the council’s 15 members hoping to avoid the bitterness that broke out in pre-war debate.

The U.S. draft, introduced Friday, would give the U.N. stamp of approval to a U.S.-British occupation of Iraq for at least a year and give the Americans and British control of the country’s oil wealth for rebuilding the country.

Under the plan, the United Nations would appoint a coordinator to work with the U.S.-British coalition, but the world body would have an advisory role, its influence limited mostly to humanitarian issues. Spain and Britain co-sponsored the resolution.

Fedotov discussed the situation in Iraq and the U.N. role there Saturday with French Ambassador Claude Blanchemaison and Chinese Ambassador Zhang Deguang, the Foreign Ministry said. The three countries all hold veto powers on the council and opposed the U.S.-led war to topple Saddam Hussein.