British Foreign Secretary in Paris for Iraq talks

Brirish Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was holding talks with French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin in Paris today in a bid to hammer out a plan for post-war Iraq.

The meeting came a day after US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair met in Northern Ireland to discuss the future of Iraq.

The two leaders said they would hand over power in the country as soon as possible, involve Iraqis immediately in the creation of a transitional government and give the United Nations a “vital role” in reconstruction.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan visits Paris tomorrow.

Later this week, the leaders of France, Russia and Germany – who banded together before the war to oppose the US-led attack – will hold a meeting in St Petersburg, Russia.