By John Irish
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - France has started drafting a UN Security Council resolution in coordination with the United States on setting up an international mission to restore movement in the Strait of Hormuz, diplomats said on Tuesday.
Paris has unsuccessfully attempted in the past to put a resolution together on the subject, but the latest move follows talks between France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Monday evening and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
“Several options were discussed,” Macron said after meeting the US president at Trump Tower in New York.
“We will be working on diplomatic solutions over the coming hours, which could make it possible, even without a comprehensive agreement, to find ways of allowing more container ships and oil tankers to transit.”
The diplomats said Paris hopes to be able to circulate a draft resolution to the Security Council soon, although they declined to give a time frame.
Previous efforts at the UN have failed to garner support from veto-wielding powers China and Russia, over fears of bias against Tehran.
But with oil prices surging globally and concerns that an advance by Houthi rebels in Yemen could threaten the strategic Bab el-Mandeb corridor, there is hope that a compromise can be found this time.
The diplomats said the resolution would center on separating the waterway’s security from wider tensions with Iran and underscoring the shared interests of all nations to preserve freedom of navigation and access to energy supplies.
UN member states would coordinate efforts to safeguard commercial shipping through Hormuz without adopting an offensive posture toward Iran, criticising the United States, or linking the issue to other regional disputes, the diplomats said.
“France wants to work with the Americans and its partners on a Security Council resolution guaranteeing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” a French diplomatic source said.
(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Howard Goller)
