"I am not a political analyst. You have to hope that sanity returns and that we are able to have an international system that meets everyone's needs," he told AFP in an interview.

"On this occasion I think the United States thought that the international system had failed so they went ahead."

US President George W. Bush launched war on Iraq March 19 after failing in months of diplomacy to win backing to his cause from the United Nations, allies such as France and Germany or great powers China and Russia.

"It is my personal hope since I work for a multinational institution that over time we can develop a multinational system that meets the needs of everybody and to which, up to now, the United States had been a great support," Wolfensohn said.

Wolfensohn said he would not write off the United Nations system. "I think if you write it off you are going to have to reinvent it."

SPACE.WIRE