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Secretary-General Kofi Annan heads to Europe on Wednesday to seek consensus from Security Council members on a U.N. role in the reconstruction of Iraq.

Annan's trip to France, Germany, Britain and Russia will follow a summit in Northern Ireland between President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair where the future of Iraq was a top agenda item.

The United States remains at odds with much of the council including its closest ally, Britain on what the U.N.'s role should be.

The Bush administration says the U.S.-led coalition fighting in Iraq must take the lead in running and rebuilding Iraq. The European Union wants the United Nations to be a major player.

Annan on Monday advocated "an important role" for the U.N. in rebuilding Iraq, stressing that only the world body can bring legitimacy to the job. He also picked the day Bush and Blair met to introduce the Security Council to Rafeeuddin Ahmed, his new special adviser on post-conflict issues.

Ahmed is a former Pakistani diplomat who spent 30 years at the U.N. and rose to the post of assistant secretary-general. Since February, he has been working for Annan on a possible U.N. role in Iraq. His appointment officially makes him the focal point for discussions with council members and other U.N. states on a possible U.N. role.

During Annan's 90-minute meeting in his office with the 15 council ambassadors, the council's divisions over the war surfaced again.

The United States attacked Iraq without authorization from the council following strong opposition from France, Russia, Germany and China, which believed that Iraq could be disarmed peacefully.

U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte said the United Nations won't be left out.

"I'm sure there's going to be a role for the United Nations and that's going to have to be further discussed," he said. "People shouldn't be surprised if the coalition is going to take the lead in Iraq, given the fact that it's the coalition that has basically sacrificed its blood and treasure to achieve the outcome that now seems to be inevitable."

France's U.N. ambassador, Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, expressed hope the Security Council can unite on a central role for the U.N. after the war. Diplomats also said Russia made clear that any post-conflict involvement in Iraq by the United Nations must not legitimize the war.

Annan will be in Paris on Thursday, Berlin and London on Friday and St. Petersburg, Russia on Saturday, his spokesman said.

The United Nations is certain to be involved in humanitarian efforts, and Annan stressed its expertise in facilitating new or interim administrations in countries that are emerging from conflict. He also cited U.N. experience in working with donors and U.N. agencies on reconstruction, and on promoting human rights and the rule of law.

But senior Bush administration officials have made clear they don't want the United Nations putting together a new political structure in Iraq, as it did in Afghanistan. Bush has chosen retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner to head the Pentagon's new Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, and he is expected to be the civil administrator of Iraq when the war ends.

"They see it as part of the war effort," Annan said of Garner's operation. Its aim is "eventually to try to pacify the situation and secure the environment before one moves on to the next stage."

photo credit and caption:

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, right, meets with members of the U.N. Security Council to discuss the reconstruction of post-war Iraq at United Nations headquarters, Monday, April 7, 2003. Also seen are Britain's Jeremy Greenstock, center left and U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte, center right.(AP Photo/The United Nations, Sophie Paris/HO)

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