UN seeks to break impasse in Iraq

President Bush said the the United Nations had a "vital role"

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has confirmed he will send a team of experts to Baghdad to advise on the handover of political power in Iraq.

After meeting US President George W Bush, Mr Annan said he was sending a team to Iraq to "break the impasse" over the American handover plan.

The Bush administration wants to hand over to a transitional Iraqi government selected by regional meetings.

But Iraq's Shia majority wants direct elections to take place this year.

Mr Annan said the US-led coalition and the interim Iraqi administration had agreed to accept the UN team's findings.

We've discussed ways to make sure that, by working together, the Iraqi people can be free Kofi Annan

After the meeting President Bush said that "the United Nations does have a vital role" in Iraq.

Mr Annan acknowledged "some disagreement" over how to establish a provisional government in Baghdad.

He said his team would aim to overcome that problem.

"Everyone agrees that sovereignty should be handed over to Iraq as soon as possible," Mr Annan told reporters.

"The date of 30 June has been suggested, but there is some disagreement as to the mechanism for establishing the provisional government.

"We've discussed ways to make sure that, by working together, the Iraqi people can be free and the country stable and prosperous and an example of democracy in the Middle East. And the United Nations does have a vital role there."

Sidelined

The US is hoping the UN can persuade the Shias that there is simply not enough time to organise elections by June.

But Mr Annan has already made it clear that the UN wants assurances that any team it sends to Iraq will be fully protected.

It pulled out its international staff last year after a huge bomb attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad killed more than 20 people.

It was also sidelined over the reconstruction of Iraq by the Bush administration.