Colin Powell Travels To Switzerland In Hopes Of Settling International Differences
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is noon in Atlanta, 11:00 a.m. in Nashville, Tennessee, 6:00 p.m. in Geneva Switzerland. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Global Headquarters and this is CNN LIVE SATURDAY. We begin in Switzerland where the focus today, has been on stabilizing Iraq. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is holding talks with the foreign ministers of the four other permanent members of the United Nations' Security Council. From Geneva, CNN's senior international correspondent, Sheila MacVicar with the very latest -- Sheila.</s>SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, that meeting broke up just a few minutes ago. Secretary Powell will be shortly leaving Geneva and heading off, as you said, on a trip which will take him to Kuwait and Iraq, departing a little later on today from Geneva. Now the meeting took place here, as the League of Nations, the old Palais des Nations building, here in Geneva. A symbolic choice, perhaps, given what the U.S. administration had been saying about the United Nations in the months leading up to war with Iraq. You remember perhaps, the phrase, I think was used was that they were "irrelevant" that was the time the U.S. chose to go to war. A war, only with the cooperation with the British. Now, they're back talking about a U.S. resolution, which is on the table now, which would give U.N. Security Council approval to additional troops, multi-national troops, the U.S. saying it wants between 10 and 15,000 troops to go into Iraq, the question, of course, being where those troops should come from, the U.S. hoping, very much, that they might come from Muslim nations, like Turkey and Pakistan. Now, the other members of the Security Council have suggested that, in large measure, they would accept such a proposal, but the sticking point has been this question of the transfer of citizen control away from U.S. authorities and put into the hands of Iraqis, themselves. Now, this has clearly been a difficult day. here in Geneva, and we heard from Secretary of state Powell. His views there had been perhaps some progress made.</s>COLIN POWELL, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I will leave this meeting, encouraged with the points of convergence, but also recognizing that there's still some difficulties and differences that have to be worked out. What we're all committed to, as the secretary general said, is to put authority back into the hands of the Iraqi people.</s>MACVICAR: As quickly as possible, now, that is indeed the question, here. The French have a view it should happen very quickly indeed, perhaps within a month or so. The United States making very clear, over the course of the last week, that it believes such a swift transfer of authority was unrealistic and indeed would not be responsible. That clearly has been one of the discussions that has been taking place, here today. All parties careful to say that their -- the purpose in being here today was to listen, to try to get some consensus that they could then take back to New York and try build on -- Fredricka.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, Sheila MacVicar, thanks very much, from Geneva. International Differences>