As stated in “The Report of the Iraq Inquiry – Executive Summary”: “199. France, Germany, and Russia stated on 5 March that they would not let a resolution pass that authorized the use of force. Russia and France, ‘as Permanent Members of the Security Council, will assume all their responsibilities on this point’.”
– Commissioned by the Prime Minister The Right Honourable Gordon Brown MP, “The Report of the Iraq Inquiry: Executive Summary,” IraqInquiry.org.uk, March 5, 2003