June 5 (Bloomberg) -- French President Jacques Chirac said progress is being made on a United Nations resolution on Iraq and ``finishing touches'' on the document can be expected soon.

Chirac, after meeting in Paris with U.S. President George W. Bush, said the U.S. invasion succeeded in toppling ``a tyrannical regime.'' At the same time, the situation in Iraq ``is extremely precarious,'' meaning no effort must be spared to ensure peace, security and development.

The UN resolution under debate ``must say loud and clear that the international community is hell-bent on achieving one objective, which is returning sovereignty to an Iraqi government, which will give hope to Iraqis and the people of Iraq,'' Chirac said. ``So we're entirely like-minded on that, and I believe that things are moving in the right direction.''

Bush is trying to rebuild bridges of diplomacy with France, which had opposed the U.S. invasion. The U.S. yesterday submitted a third draft resolution to the Security Council, where France has veto power, aimed at winning international support for the caretaker government in Iraq. The language grants to Iraq the power to order a withdrawal of U.S. forces if it chooses.

Bush, at the news conference, said U.S. coalition forces would be staying in Iraq after the June 30 transfer of power to an interim government.

`Full' International Support

``At the request of the prime minister, multinational forces will remain in Iraq to help this new government succeed in its vital work,'' Bush said. ``A free Iraq deserves the full support of the international community.''

Bush said the Iraqi people ``want and deserve freedom, peace and prosperity, and the nations of the world have a responsibility to help them achieve that.''

Democracy in Iraq cannot be imposed from the outside, Bush said. ``I fully know that democratization is not the same as westernization,'' he said. Nations such as Turkey, Nicaragua and the Philippines show ``the freedom takes different forms around the globe.''

``Democratic governments in the Middle East will reflect their own cultures in their own traditions,'' Bush said.

Bush pledged that the world will see a ``full investigation'' of the prisoner abuse scandal.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Iraq's new prime minister-designate, Ayad Allawi, has written a letter agreeing that U.S. troops can stay in Iraq, a move that may lead to approval of the resolution.

``This gets us much closer to the finish line,'' he told reporters traveling with Bush on Air Force One as the aircraft arrived in Paris.

Troops and Security

France and Germany have been among the sharpest critics of the U.S.-led coalition operation and have said the UN resolution needs improvement, including that the Iraqi interim government have as much power as possible. They also have said they want a specific date set for troop withdrawal.

Negotiators on the UN resolution still have to hammer out an agreement on security arrangements and fix relations between the Iraqi government, Chirac told reporters at the Paris news conference.

``I think we have progressed,'' Chirac said. ``We should be able to put the finishing touches to this text very shortly. The tyrannical regime of Saddam Hussein is no longer in power. That's a positive step. Less positive is that there's a degree of chaos prevailing. We are in a situation which is extremely precarious.''

Chirac said: ``What is important is making sure that the Iraqi people, the Iraqis, truly have the sense that they have recovered their independence, their sovereignty, that they hold their own destiny in their hands.''

Allawi's Letter

Allawi's letter says Iraq, as a sovereign country, welcomes coalition troops to provide security, Powell said. ``It's an invitation, it's a welcoming, it's a recognition that they can't provide for their own security yet. It says clearly they want to build up their own forces as quickly as possible.''

In his radio address earlier today, Bush urged against ``self-defeating pessimism'' as he lobbied for support for Iraq while maintaining the battle against global terrorism.

``We have work to do in the defense of our country and for the good of humanity, and by doing our duty and holding firm to our values, this generation will give the world a lesson in the power of liberty.''

To contact the reporters on this story: --Roger Runningen in Paris at rrunningen@bloomberg.net --Richard Keil in Paris at dkeil@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 5, 2004 15:52 EDT