Denmark bypasses UN in preparing stabilisation force

DENMARK has been asked by the US to put together a stabilisation force for Iraq and has enlisted the support of at least five European countries so far.

The Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he could not afford to wait for the UN to come to an agreement on the issue and was willing to press ahead with such a force.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he had spoken to Mr Rasmussen twice yesterday but he had not mentioned the matter.

"He knows my position. We would not go near this unless it had a UN mandate," he said.

While the Danish premier discussed the force with new and current EU members in Athens yesterday, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was asking the union to support a strong role for the international body in post war Iraq.

The Iraqi question was not on the agenda of yesterday's summit but it overshadowed the meeting with almost every leader referring to it during the historic treaty signing ceremony for the 10 new member states.

Mr Rasmussen said he had received a positive response from a number of countries including Portugal, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Poland and Latvia. Germany had offered to replace Danish forces in Bosnia if they needed to redeploy them to Iraq.

"We have been very active in mapping what countries are interested in participating and I have sensed considerable positive interest", he said.

He hoped the UN could play an important role in the future of Iraq but said a solution had to be found in the Security Council soon to allow this to happen. A stabilisation force could not wait for the UN but he would decide at a later time if he should seek a UN mandate.

Mr Annan, following a meeting with Mr Rasmussen, said the force was a decision for the Danish government to make.

The French president, Jacques Chirac, said he had not been approached by the Danes about the proposal.

"This would not be a fundamental contribution to the resolution of the problem", he said. Having led the anti-war camp in the EU Mr Chirac is anxious to ensure the UN is involved.

The Dutch said they were approached by the US also to provide troops for Baghdad but they would not without a UN mandate.

Mr Annan met most of the EU leaders and the Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. He said he wanted to restore the unity of the Security Council. The four EU members of the council Germany, France, Britain and Spain also had a separate meeting.

British Foreign Minister Jack Straw warned that unless the four agree a role for the UN, Britain and the US would be forced to make other arrangements.

This would mean sidelining the UN for the second time in the Iraq conflict.

The Taoiseach said Mr Annan was anxious to get the UN involved in humanitarian aid in Iraq and considered the other issues of reconstruction and political involvement would be in the longer term.

The British prime minister said he believed the UN should be involved in all three areas.

Relations between Mr Blair and Mr Chirac seemed to be quite warm when they met yesterday. Many believe the British position on a UN role is now closer to the EU generally than to the US.

Last night EU diplomats were working on a proposal spelling out the role they and the UN should have in Iraq.