In his first foreign trip since the conflict started, Powell also sounded out Europeans on the possibility of a NATO role in Iraq after the end of the war, which is believed to be entering a crucial phase after just over two weeks of fighting.

Like the issue of the war itself, the question of UN involvement in post-war Iraq has fueled continuing transatlantic tension.

The EU wants the UN to take a key role, while hawks in Washington want the US to stay in charge.

"We are seeing an emerging consensus on these issues," said Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou after a lunch gathering 23 foreign ministers, held amid tight security due to anti-war protests.

NATO chief George Robertson, reporting "broad agreement" that the war should end as soon as possible, also said the Brussels meeting had showed the desire for reconcilation.

"There have been divisions in the past. I see a growing consensus about the future," he said.

Powell, whose talks included a one-on-one meeting with leading anti-war ministers including France's Dominique de Villepin, sought a conciliatory tone ahead of the meeting. His talks with de Villepin had been "friendly" and "looking to the future," a diplomatic source said.

Diplomats have warned that Powell's task will be delicate.

Powell was also attending a meeting of NATO's decision-making North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of foreign ministers.

According to diplomats, Powell was set to call for NATO to play a role in post-war Iraq, a proposal already received coolly by anti-war European states.

The United States was to "indicate that they are willing for NATO to play a role, but they are very careful to appear demanding," said the source.

NATO was plunged into an unprecedented crisis in February after three anti-war countries blocked a US request to help boost Turkey's defences in preparation for a war.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana meanwhile said it was too early to talk about financial aid to rebuild Iraq -- but expressed hope for an accord on the role of the UN in Iraq.

"An agreement has been already reached on food for oil," Solana said, referring to an accord by the UN Security Council. "If that has been possible I don't see why the rest should not be possible."

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, which is waging war alongside US troops even now preparing to move on Baghdad, said Iraq must be handed back to its people after the conflict.

"It's not about the UN running post-war Iraq, it's about the Iraqi people running post-war Iraq," he said.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder also pleaded Thursday for the UN to play the lead role in reshaping a post-war Iraq. "It is essential that any process of reconstruction is organised under the responsibility of the United Nations," he said in Berlin.

The EU's Greek presidency reiterated its view that the EU needs a new UN resolution to give its full backing to post-war reconstruction of Iraq.

"A UN resolution will be a prerequisite for a full involvement of the European Union in the post-conflict reconstruction process," said Papandreou.

Powell was also to meet Thursday with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, whose country has warned that the Iraq is the biggest international crisis since the end of the Cold War.

Ivanov said before the meeting that he would discuss the "tragic" consequences of the US-led war. "Our position on the war in Iraq is well known," he said.

Security was tight for the Brussels talks, with activists in fiercely anti-war Belgium planning demonstrations outside. Water cannons were among police reinforcements around the alliance complex.

SPACE.WIRE