Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on 5 March met in Paris with his French and German counterparts, Dominique de Villepin and Joschka Fischer, and the three men issued a joint statement pledging to block the adoption of a \"military\" UN Security Council resolution on Iraq, Western and Russian news agencies reported. The statement further asserts that, if necessary, France and Russia -- which are permanent Security Council members with veto power -- will take \"upon themselves all responsibility for preventing the approval of a resolution that will lead to war with Iraq.\" Asked whether this means using a veto if the United States, Great Britain, and Spain insist on a vote on the draft resolution that they have submitted, Ivanov said, \"Yes,\" and added that this pledge has now been committed to paper. He added that during his recent trip to Beijing, he reached a \"partner agreement\" with China under which that country will join France and Russia in vetoing the proposed resolution. De Villepin, however, expressed the hope that the countries will not have to veto the proposal because it will not be supported by a majority of the council. In Moscow, French nationalist politician Jean-Marie Le Pen told \"Komsomolskaya pravda\" on 4 March that he is pleased with the emerging \"Paris-Berlin-Moscow-Beijing\" political axis. (RFE/RL)