British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair has said the United Nations should be involved in rebuilding post-war Iraq and not just in providing humanitarian relief.
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"We are agreed on the importance of the United Nations in post-conflict Iraq," Mr Blair said after meeting UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan on the sidelines of the EU summit in Athens.
"That is a role that should be there not simply in respect of humanitarian issues but also political and reconstruction issues that arise," Mr Blair said.
Mr Annan said: "I am confident that the UN will play an important role and as we move ahead in the next few weeks I expect that role to become much clearer".
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UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan gestures as he addresses a jointnews conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair afterbilateral talks during the EU summit in Athens this morning.
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Mr Blair was keen to use the Athens summit to seek to repair international rifts over the US-led war on Iraq and alleviate concerns by many European leaders that the United States will sideline the UN in the post-war period.
Mr Blair and US President George W. Bush have said the UN will play a "vital role" in post-war Iraq, but the United States has sounded reluctant to get bogged down in international diplomacy again.
Mr Annan said Iraq's neighbours must also be consulted. "As we move forward, we need to work with the [Middle East] region. The views of the region are very important," he said.