New York  - Britain said Monday the UN Security Council may consider sanctions against individuals in Zimbabwe who subverted the presidential vote that re-elected President Robert Mugabe for a sixth consecutive term.

But British Ambassador John Sawers said the council would peg its discussion on the sanctions to decisions by the African Union summit that met in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, beginning on Monday.

"There was a first draft of a resolution on sanctions, which we'll discuss over the next couple of days," Sawers told reporters. "We certainly support increasing pressure on those in Zimbabwe who are responsible for subverting the elections, and for creating a climate whereby the ballots were discarded, as it was in Friday's elections."

Sawers said the European Union already has substantial sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe as well as Britain's own measures against that country. He said it was not yet known which direction the council take on the sanctions, but it all depends on what it will hear from the AU.

Over the weekend, US President George W Bush called for UN sanctions and a weapons embargo against Mugabe's government, and said Washington would consider additional bilateral sanctions.

The Security Council last week said it was impossible to expect that the runoff on Friday would be free and fair considering the levels of violence against Mugabe's opponents.

After Mugabe was sworn in on Sunday, the council said it regretted that the runoff was carried out despite UN warnings.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in Tokyo Sunday that he supported the council's criticism of the way what runoff was conducted.

"The secretary general has said repeatedly that conditions were not in place for a free and fair election and observers have confirmed this from the deeply flawed process," UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said. "The outcome did not reflect the true and genuine will of the Zimbabwean people or produce a legitimate result."

Okabe said Ban urged the AU and Southern African Development Community (SADC) to promote an agreement acceptable to the people of Zimbabwe. (dpa)