British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw urged the UN to return to Iraq to help resolve a dispute over elections at the opening of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
He defended the US led coalition's decision to go to war and lobbied for international support in the post-war rebuilding.
"I am in no doubt that if we had sat on our hands and not acted, the world would be today a much more dangerous place," he told a packed early session.
Mr Straw expressed hope that US Secretary-General Kofi Annan - due in Davos tomorrow - will support an American and Iraqi request to deploy experts who would assess whether Iraq could hold elections by May for a transitional government.
Iraq's most prominent Shia leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, has demanded direct elections to choose a provisional government by July 1st, but US officials want to adhere to a plan to use caucuses to choose the interim legislature.
UN staff pulled out of Iraq in October following two bombings at UN headquarters, and Mr Annan said on Monday that security for a new team was a key concern.
Mr Straw said the US appointed Iraqi Governing Council believed early elections were not feasible, and he testily rejected suggestions that the caucus plan lacked "legitimacy."
The 32nd forum was to officially open tonight with an address by Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who was also holding a one-on-one session with Mr Straw.
The Foreign Secretary's visit to Tehran with his French and German counterparts in October helped broker an agreement on UN access to Iran's nuclear sites.
Mr Straw said they would follow-up on that issue and discuss the recent earthquake in Bam and bilateral issues.
Other speakers at Davos this year include US Vice President Dick Cheney, Jordan's King Abdullah and Microsoft founder Mr Bill Gates.
AP