Powell offers role to UN - on his terms

Europe and the US yesterday took a first step towards healing bitter divisions over Iraq but failed to agree on a precise role for the UN once Saddam Hussein has been overthrown.

Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, told 23 European foreign ministers in Brussels that Washington wanted a "partnership" with the world body, though he made it clear that Washington and its allies, who had expended money and lives on the war, would make the key decisions.

"We are still examining the proper role for the UN," Mr Powell said after hastily convened talks at Nato headquarters. "But the coalition has to play the leading role."

France, Germany and Russia insist the UN must be the key player, with the US wanting an interim administration run by US officials and Iraqi advisers. The British position, as so often, lies between the European mainstream and the US

"We must stabilise Iraq," said the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin. "The UN is the only international organisation that can give legitimacy to this."

"This may be the beginning of a process to heal divisions," said Jack Straw, Britain's foreign secretary. "We are all agreed on a role for the UN but there needs to be a lot of discussion.

"We are advocating to everybody that the country should be handed over to the Iraqi people as quickly as possible. It's not about the UN running post-war Iraq, it's about the Iraqi people running post-war Iraq."

One British diplomat said: "We're not getting recriminations of the 'you bombed it so you rebuild it' type we had at the last EU summit. People are talking seriously."

Mr Powell signalled a wish for reconciliation after weeks of furious exchanges, especially between the US and France. "Notwithstanding the serious and heated disputes we have had, we now must move forward and align ourselves with the needs of the Iraqi people."

But some EU governments doubt whether he can win arguments against hawks like Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, and Dick Cheney, the vice-president.

Britain believes UN backing is vital to ensure international financial institutions share the reconstruction burden.

George Robertson, Nato's secretary-general, also sought to emphasise the positive, talking of the "unbreakable bonds" which held the old and new continents together. "Discussions were frank and direct, but they were always balanced, calm and without acrimony."

Ministers discussed a possible role for Nato but made no decisions. Significantly, however, no objections were raised, not even by France or Germany, which triggered a crisis in February by refusing to defend fellow ally Turkey in the event of an attack by Iraq.

Diplomats said governments were looking at the experience of Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan as they ponder arrangements for Iraq.

In Kosovo, military matters are run by the Nato-led K-For, which is mandated by the security council, while civilian affairs are run by the UN, with a big role for the EU.

George Papandreou, foreign minister of Greece, which holds the union's rotating presidency, said a European-US consensus was now emerging. "The importance we place on the UN role is recognised by the US," he said.

"Obviously the UN itself has not yet had this discussion, but it's very important in our transatlantic relationship to make this a point of consensus rather than a point of division."