United Nations Security Council unanimously endorsed a new resolution on Tuesday to end the US-led occupation of Iraq and hand over power to a new Iraqi government on June 30.  

The resolution, among other things, gives Iraq control over the country's security forces and spells out that the US-led troops who will remain in the country after June 30 will stay only at the request of the Iraqi government.

Resolution 1546, submitted by the United States, Britain and Romania, says an interim Iraqi government will assume sovereignty from the US-led occupation on June 30, a transitional government will take office after election by Jan. 31, 2005, and a permanent government will take office by Jan. 31, 2006, after drafting of a constitution and election.

It authorizes the US-led multinational force to continue to stay in Iraq after June 30. The mandate of the force expires once a permanent Iraqi government is in place, around January 2006. But Iraq can demand the Security Council ends the mandate sooner.

The resolution also says that the US-led multinational force and Iraqi leaders will coordinate policy issues "on sensitive offensive operations" to ensure "full partnership" between Iraqi forces and international troops. But it stops short of giving Iraq a veto over major military operations by the multinational force.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2004)