In his first foreign trip since the conflict started, Powell said the UN would play a part after the war but he insisted that the US-led coalition take the lead, despite European calls for the UN to play a "central" role.

"I think the coalition has to play the leading role in determining the way forward," Powell told a press conference after a meeting with EU and NATO counterparts in Brussels.

NATO and EU leaders were also keen to highlight the air of reconciliation at the extraordinary meeting, which comes as US forces enter a crucial phase of the war as they advance on Baghdad.

Debate over the role of the UN in disarming Iraq was at the heart of the diplomatic battle which preceded the war -- and is now fueling continued transatlantic tension as eyes turn to post-war scenarios.

The EU wants the UN to be the forum for Iraq's future, while hawks in Washington want the United States to stay in charge.

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, who held "friendly and frank" talks with Powell during the day, also said there was a "very broad consensus" on giving the UN a central role.

Russia too wants the UN route to be taken and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, speaking before talks with Powell late Thursday, reiterated Moscow's stance.

"We are certain, it was our opinion before the war and it remains so, that the solution to the situation and the Iraqi problem must be found under the auspices of the UN," he said.

"How that will be done, in what way, and in what format is a question to which we must find an answer... The main thing is to end the war and to resume the political process in Iraq."

Meanwhile Powell, in a hastily-arranged trip which also included talks in Turkey and Belgrade before Brussels, also attended a meeting of NATO's decision-making North Atlantic Council (NAC).

Afterwards he said NATO could also be involved in post-war Iraq, possibly as peacekeepers, but no decision can yet be made on such a deployment.

US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz proposed the idea of a post-war NATO role during a visit to Brussels in December, but it was shelved notably due to reservations by anti-war countries.

Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio said NATO ambassadors could meet next week to "consider" the possibility of the alliance playing a role in Iraq.

But German Foreign Minister Joshka Fischer immediately poured cold water on the suggestion, saying the US proposal was "a very abstact idea, about which we are skeptical."

NATO was plunged into an unprecedented crisis in February after Germany, France and Belgium blocked a US request to help boost Turkey's defences in preparation for a war.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of Britain, 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.

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.

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.

But protests were relatively small, with about 80 demonstrators turning up.

SPACE.WIRE