MOSCOW?Russian and U.S. diplomats said they are reaching a consensus on an oil for-food program for Iraq, clearing the way for quick approval by the U.N. Security Council.

“Our hope is that the council will act as soon as possible and it will act unanimously on this new resolution,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Wolf told reporters Thursday in Moscow.

The so-called oil-for-food program began in 1996 to help ordinary Iraqis cope with sanctions imposed after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. It initially provided food and basic humanitarian goods but has expanded to cover public services such as education and water supply. Funded by oil sales, the program has become the mainstay of the Iraqi civilian economy.

Wolf said a stronger U.S. Russian consensus on the sanctions would enable the U.N. Security Council to start drafting a resolution that could be passed as early as next month.