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The upcoming summit between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and United States President George W. Bush, coming at a time when the US-led war against Iraq enters a crucial stage, is expected to focus on postwar construction of Iraq with role of the United Nations being top on the agenda.
The meeting, scheduled for April 7-8 in Northern Ireland, is the third of its kind in three weeks between Blair and Bush. It comes as the coalition troops are battling their way to the heart of Baghdad for the first time in the war, which broke out on March 20.
All the previous two US-British summits produced results vital to the Iraq war. The two leaders decided to give up diplomatic efforts towards a second UN resolution authorizing war on Iraq, in Portugal's Azores islands on March 16, four days before they launched military action.
During their second meeting on March 27 at Camp David, the United States, Blair and Bush discussed the progress in military campaign in Iraq and reached consensus that the war in Iraq will not be a swift one considering the severe resistance from the Iraqi forces.
However, the second summit left them divided over what a role the United Nations will play in postwar Iraq. Before his US trip, Blair told a news conference that the two countries had agreed on a pivotal role of the United Nations.
"It is common ground between us that the UN has got to be involved in post-conflict Iraq," said Blair, who has been insisting a central role of the United Nations in postwar Iraq, with the aim of calming down strong public opposition to the Iraq war and putting an end to the severe rift over Iraq between Europe and the United States.
At Camp David, Bush gave no positive reaction to Blair's suggestion of a strong UN role.
Analysts believe the upcoming summit between Bush and Blair would shape the postwar reconstruction of Iraq, with an agreement on the UN role in it.
The two leaders are expected to bridge their gap on the issue. After the Camp David talks, Blair, who analysts say has been pursuing a special relationship with Washington in order to restore Britain's traditional role as a transatlantic "bridge", was forced to readjust his tone.
During the Prime Minister question session in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Blair said that "Iraq at the end should not be run by the Americans, should not be run by any outside force or power, it should be run by the Iraqi people."
Asked whether an interim government would be led by the United States or the United Nations, Blair said that " in the immediate aftermath of the conflict, of course the coalition forces will be there."
"The United Nations has made it quite clear itself that it does not want to lead an Iraqi government, what it wants is the ability to work with us in partnership to make sure that we assemble the broadest possible representation from within Iraq itself," he added.
The basic principle was that any transitional arrangements and the Iraqi interim authority have to be UN-endorsed, Blair stressed.
Analysts say that Blair's reply failed to answer such questions as when the possible interim government would be handed over to the Iraqi people and who would govern Iraq immediately after the war.
However, they say, Blair's remarks at least delivered one clear message -- Britain was trying to make compromise with the United States over the issue of Iraq's reconstruction.
Echoing Blair, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said in Brussels on Thursday that there would "definitely be a UN role but what the exact nature of that role will be remains to be seen."
The United Nations should be a partner in running Iraq after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was overthrown but that the United States and Britain should lead the transition from a military administration to an Iraqi-run government, Powell told a news conference after talking with 26 counterparts from the European Union and NATO member states, who insisted a dominant role of the United Nations in Iraq's postwar reconstruction.
On the unresolved dispute between Europe and the United States, analysts say, Blair might again have to make a difficult choice, but he is very likely to support the latter, again.
As the war in Iraq is still underway, it is premature at this point to discuss Iraq's reconstruction, analysts say, despite that Britain and the United States have already put the issue before the international community.
A new round of diplomacy over postwar reconstruction in Iraq is looming, they predict. Britain and the United States are expected to decide how they will perform during the next phase of diplomatic tussle over Iraq at the coming summit in Northern Ireland, where they will also discuss the peace process both in the Middle East and the British province.
(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2003)
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