''The United States forced a germ warfare conference to break up on Friday without new measures to toughen an international ban, angering its European allies.

In a bid to save face, the review conference of the 1972 Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention opted formally to suspend work for a year until November 2002 after Washington put forward what one European delegate called a ``conference breaker.''

In a last-minute demand, Washington sought an end to attempts to give teeth through verification mechanisms to the pact outlawing biological weapons.

[....]

''It is a direct provocation to everybody. Their (the U.S.) position is completely unacceptable,'' another senior diplomat from a European state said.

European diplomats said it reinforced a view that the administration of President Bush, which has already spurned a number of global accords, including on climate change, preferred to go it alone in international affairs.''

- Reuters