UNITED NATIONS Foreign ministers from the United States, Russia, Britain and France attempt on Tuesday to break the deadlock on U.S.-British Iraqi sanctions proposals during a NATO meeting in Budapest, diplomats said.

Of particular interest would be talks between U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Russia's Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, whose country has the strongest objections to a draft resolution Britain circulated to the 15 UN Security Council members last week.

France appears to be in agreement on the resolution in principle but its envoys are stressing unity among the council's key members, an indication they would want to put off a vote if Russia continues to balk at the draft, Reuters quoted the envoys as saying on Monday.

The U.S.-British measures ease sanctions on civilian goods to Iraq but expands a list of military-related supplies.

China, the fifth permanent UN Security Council member with veto power, will not represented in Budapest.

Ambassadors from the five council powers met late on Monday at UN headquarters but apparently made no progress. France has submitted a series of amendments, some of which the United States and Britain have accepted but uncertain is whether a vote can be held soon.

The United States and Britain want to get the resolution adopted by May 31, before the current phase of the UN humanitarian "oil-for-food" program expires on June 3.

That program, which regulates oil sales from and goods going to Baghdad, was meant to ease the impact of sanctions, imposed when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990.

The oil-for-food plan requires proceeds from Iraqi oil sales to be put in a UN escrow fund out of which suppliers for goods imported to Iraq are paid. The U.S.-British resolution would keep the fund intact, thereby denying Baghdad free use of its monies.