UNITED NATIONS – America’s ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, yesterday said he might accept “bridging” proposals on the U.N. budget wars, but at the same time he vowed to block approval of funds for the next two years unless the organization begins to reform itself.

Japan’s ambassador, Kenzo Oshima, agreed that passing a budget without demonstrated change at Turtle Bay is “neither appropriate nor acceptable.” Japan, the second-largest contributor, pays nearly 20% of the United Nations’ running annual budget, while America pays 22%.

Mr. Oshima said he will present “some ideas” in the next few days, hoping to reach a compromise in the split between his and America’s positions and those of Secretary-General Annan and most European countries, as well as almost all the other 191 members of the General Assembly.

Mr. Bolton did not dismiss the suggestion. “Here, in the financial capital of the world, surely there are people who could come up with ways to accomplish what is essentially a bridging question,” he told The New York Sun yesterday. But he would not “delink” budgetary issues from reform, as Europeans demand.

“It’s just a matter of practical reality that people’s attention is focused by budget implications,” Mr. Bolton said. “If we adopted a two-year budget and then simply hoped that reform would come, and be reflected in modifications to that budget, we would be consigning reform to the dust bin.”

The United Nations wants to pass the budget at the end of December, while reform ideas will only be enacted by next February. This forces member states to vote for a budget that would not include major money cuts proposed in reform plans. Mr. Oshima, who spoke at a General Assembly meeting yesterday, said that “efforts at reform should be adequately reflected” in the proposed 2006-2007 budget, rather than wait for the budget of 2008-2009.

The U.N. undersecretary-general for management, Christopher Burnham, yesterday touted reform steps the organization has already proposed and scoffed at the suggestion that his position pitted him against former colleagues in the Bush administration.

Mr. Bolton told the Sun that while he sympathizes with Mr. Burnham’s efforts, his ideas have not been adopted yet.

Necessary reform is hitting significant resistance from a large group of over 120 member states, known as the Group of 77, Mr. Bolton said. The current budget fight might be the first time he has used budgetary and other issues involving America’s U.N. contribution to get his way, but certainly not the last. “[Secretary of State] Rice said she wants a revolution of reform,” Mr. Bolton said. “So there’s a lot more coming.”