"After a necessary phase of establishing a secure environment, the time for reconstruction will begin, during which wisdom dictates that the United Nations play a central role," Chirac told reporters.

"It is up to the United Nations -- and it alone -- to take on the political, economic, humanitarian and administrative reconstruction of Iraq," the French leader added, after talks with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers.

He said only the world body had the "necessary legitimacy" to undertake such a task, noting that the UN could provide a solid framework for postwar Iraq that would ensure the future stability of the country and the region.

Chirac said his point of view was "very widely shared throughout the world", and across Europe in particular.

Earlier Tuesday, US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a joint statement following their summit in Northern Ireland that the United Nations had a "vital role" to play in the reconstruction of Iraq.

Chirac, who has staunchly opposed the US-British decision to invade Iraq in a bid to oust President Saddam Hussein, said he "totally shared" Bush and Blair's opinion on the UN issue.

Chirac's foreign minister Dominique de Villepin will meet with his British counterpart Jack Straw early Wednesday in Paris for talks expected to focus on the shape of a postwar administration in Iraq.

The French president said he would receive UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in Paris early Thursday.

Chirac also confirmed that he would travel to Saint Petersburg on Friday and Saturday for talks on Iraq with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Annan is expected in Saint Petersburg on Saturday.

Before the outbreak of the US-led war in Iraq on March 20, France, Germany and Russia were the most active members of the UN Security Council in opposing the use of military force against Baghdad.

The foreign ministers of the three countries, meeting in Paris on Friday, called for an early role for the United Nations in running postwar Iraq, voicing concern about a humanitarian emergency there.

SPACE.WIRE