Bush urges UN action on Iraq

The US is struggling in Iraq and wants others to contribute troops

US President George W Bush has called on members of the United Nations Security Council to act quickly and approve a new resolution on Iraq.

Mr Bush on Wednesday called on members to avoid past disputes about the war and "move forward".

The US has called for a new resolution that would authorise a multinational force in Iraq.

But France and Germany - which opposed going to war - want to give the UN a larger role in Iraq's future than Washington appears willing to allow.

Mr Bush, in a statement regarded by analysts as conciliatory, said France and Germany may want to "fine tune" the US proposal.

Let's not get caught up in past bickering US President George W Bush

But he added that the two countries were not opposed to the planned resolution.

"We expect and hope that our friends contribute to the reconstruction of Iraq," the US president said.

"Let's not get caught up in past bickering."

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has asked foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the Security Council to meet in Geneva on Saturday to resolve their differences on Iraq.

Misgivings

The US draft resolution would leave Washington in charge of the military occupation but grant the UN and the US-backed Iraqi Governing Council a role in running elections.

Furthermore, the Americans - who are suffering almost daily guerrilla attacks in Iraq - are seeking 15,000 additional soldiers from other countries.

Iraqi people don't understand the logic of occupation Ahmed Chalabi

However, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday again ruled out sending German troops.

He told parliament in Berlin that the dispatch of more soldiers would do little to improve security.

But he added that his government was ready to hep train Iraqi police and troops in Germany.

Iraq's US-backed Governing Council has also expressed scepticism about the arrival of more foreign soldiers.

"We will not invite any troops," said Ahmed Chalabi, a former exile who is currently chairing the council, told a news conference in Baghdad.

"Our ultimate aim is complete sovereignty over Iraq," he added.

Continuing attacks

Mr Chalabi has been criticised in the past for his closeness to Washington.

But analysts say he now appears to be seeking to assert his independence.

France and Germany are wary of the US plan

"The Iraqi people understand the logic of liberation but they don't understand the logic of occupation," he said.

Meanwhile, another US soldier in Iraq was killed on Wednesday.

A serviceman from the US 1st Armoured Division died in Baghdad when a bomb exploded during an operation to defuse it.

In a separate incident, an Iraqi boy was killed and about 50 others wounded in a suicide attack in the northern city of Arbil.