Instead, Annan will go to Athens on April 17 to take part in a European Union summit, according to a statement issued by UN headquarters in New York.

Annan's spokesman, Fred Eckhard, had said Monday that the UN chief would embark Wednesday on a whirlwind tour of four countries at the center of wrangling over future UN participation in Iraq -- Britain, France, Germany and Russia.

Since the April 17 summit "will provide him the opportunity to meet with the leadership of the European Union as well a other participating countries, he has decided not to travel to Europe tomorrow (Wednesday) as previously announced, the brief statement said.

Under Annan's initial program he would have met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Germany, France and Russia want the United Nations to play a central role in postwar Iraq reconstruction, while President George W. Bush and Blair, meeting in Belfast, promised only a "vital" role for the world body.

SPACE.WIRE