"I think it's going to be quite a hard negotiation," one Council diplomat speculated.

But one Council diplomat who sat through part of the session was more cautious.

One Council diplomat said that the response from this group was largely positive.

"Russia was the catalyst," one Council diplomat involved in the talks said.

Council diplomats said they expected that the comments on the draft would be reported back to Washington tonight.

But one Council diplomat declined today to rule out the Canadian model as a basis for future compromise.

"This is very, very serious," one Council diplomat said today.

Council diplomats indicated today that the measure was likely to win approval late this week or early next week.

Council diplomats said today that the current draft, including disputed portions of the text, would be sent to the home governments on Thursday.

Several Council diplomats said they were impatient with the proposal.