CRISIS IN THE PERSIAN GULF : Baker Builds Up Support for U.N. Resolution on Force : Diplomacy: Two more nations promise to back a move to approve military action in the gulf. The next step depends on Moscow.

In his search for support to use force in the Persian Gulf if necessary, Secretary of State James A. Baker III on Saturday won vote promises from two more members of the U.N. Security Council, U.S. officials said, while the third nation consulted here did not immediately state its position.

He appears to be well on the way to getting the necessary nine “yes” votes in the 15-member Security Council. To be adopted, the resolution also requires that none of the five permanent Security Council members casts a veto. Those five are the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, China and France.

After talks with Baker in Geneva, Zaire and Ethiopia indicated they would support the resolution; Ivory Coast declined to comment.

The key to proceeding further is held by the Soviet Union, whose Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze, meets with Baker today in Paris after Baker has consulted there with four other members of the Security Council.

The Soviets last week gave tentative approval for a use-of-force resolution, a senior U.S. official indicated. But they reserved their final position, presumably until Baker consults with the other council members. When he meets with Shevardnadze, he will have talked to 11 of the 15 members.

Moscow has given no sign that it would veto the resolution. “If we got a signal that we’d get a veto, we’d shut down the operation very quickly,” a senior official traveling with Baker said Saturday.

“As long as we’re talking, (it means) at least we haven’t received a veto signal,” he noted carefully.

Baker flew to Paris immediately after his consultations here with the three African states, who are among the 10 non-permanent members of the council.

“We’ve had a positive day of consulting,” Baker said later. But he declined to predict whether he will win the necessary votes to go to the Security Council for action on the resolution this month, while the United States still holds the body’s rotating presidency.

The resolution would authorize, in advance, the use of force against Iraq by any of the 25 nations in the anti-Iraq coalition with a military capability in the Persian Gulf region.

The foreign minister of Zaire, Kalimba Wakatana Mushobekwa, said when he emerged from the meeting with Baker that “we support it (the resolution).”

Ethiopia’s foreign minister, Tesfaya Dinka, did not respond to questions on his nation’s position, but a U.S. official later said Ethiopia would vote for the resolution.

Ivory Coast’s chief diplomat, Simeon Ake, also declined to comment. U.S. officials did not characterize his position. However, his country has voted for all the other 10 U.N. resolutions condemning Iraq for its Aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait, demanding its withdrawal and supporting economic sanctions against it.

All told, there were no signs that Baker had heard anything from the three nations to deter him from pursuing the resolution.

U.S. officials indicated that if the resolution is approved, war would not necessarily follow immediately. They insist that the resolution would provide a powerful message to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein that the international community is prepared to go beyond economic sanctions if necessary to drive him out of Kuwait.

Previously, Baker had consulted with the other permanent members of the Security Council and with Canada. Britain and France, as well as Canada, have indicated their support for the resolution. China is not expected to cast a veto if the Soviets give the resolution its support.

In Paris, Baker will consult with Finland and Romania, who are non-permanent council members, as well as with Britain, France and the Soviets.

Although Baker is likely to get some indication of Moscow’s position today, U.S. officials cautioned that the final word on the matter may well wait for President Bush’s meeting with Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev during the European summit that begins Monday.