After the meeting, Annan's spokesman Fred Ekhard announced that the secretary general would make a whirlwind diplomatic tour of four countries at the heart of the wrangling over the UN's future role in Iraq -- Britain, France, Germany and Russia.

"These four countries are actively engaged in the current debate ... and (Annan) felt that he wanted to have discussions at a higher level than he's been able to have here," Ekhard said.

Annan, who will leave on his tour Wednesday and return to New York at the weekend, will meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Before Monday's talks, Annan reiterated that he expected the United Nations to play an "important role" in Iraq's reconstruction and cited the UN's long experience in the fields of "political facilitation" as well as humanitarian aid and human rights.

"Above all, the UN involvement does bring legitimacy, which is necessary for the country, for the region and for the peoples around the world," he said.

His comments and the announcement of the European tour came amid intense debate between world leaders over who should lead rebuilding efforts in Iraq on the political, humanitarian and economic levels.

The staunchest US ally, Britain, has found itself on common ground with the fiercest opponents of the war in Iraq -- France, Germany and Russia -- in pushing for a significant role for the United Nations when hostilities cease.

However, key members of the President George W. Bush's administration -- angered at the Security Council's failure to support the war -- have balked at granting the world body a role as a power-broker in the region.

Of key concern is the control of Iraq's vast oil reserves.

A UN Security Council resolution adopted last week gave Annan control for 45 days over the humanitarian side of the UN programme that uses Iraq's oil revenues for food and medical supplies.

Annan formally announced the appointment of Pakistani diplomat Rafeeuddin Ahmed -- a former UN assistant secretary general -- as his Special Advisor on Iraq.

"His role will be ... thinking about the future, thinking about what is likely to happen and what the likely UN role will be," he said.

Annan also stressed that the Iraqi scenario had never been expected to play out like East Timor or Kosovo, where the absence of any political infrastructure had seen the United Nations heading an interim civil administration.

"There are trained personnel, there is a reasonably effective civil service," he said. "As we have said before, Iraqis have to be responsible for their political future."

Later Monday, the head of the World Food Programme (WFP), James Morris, voiced optimism Monday that his staff would be operating "universally" all over Iraq within 30 days.

The WFP currently has 180 staff positioned in countries bordering Iraq and has already begun sending limited food convoys into northern Iraq from Turkey.

UN humanitarian workers have estimated that the Iraqi people have enough food supplies to last them for another month and Morris confirmed there was no serious humanitarian food crisis in Iraq at the present time.

On the WFP's efforts to raise 1.3 billion dollars to fund its humanitarian efforts in Iraq, Morris said the appeal was going "reasonably well" and stressed that the splits in the international community over the war had not adversely affected donations.

"I have had no one say to us that there are political issues here that I am uncomfortable with, therefore I will not make a humanitarian commitment," he said.

SPACE.WIRE