Speaking in London, where he was appearing for the first time since the start of diplomatic clashes between France in one side, and Britain and the United States on the other, France’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dominique de Villepin said the United Nations "must be at the heart" of the post-war administration of Iraq.

As he was speaking in London, his British counterpart, Jack Straw was in Washington, accompanying his Prime Minister for the first US-UK Summit since the start of the "Shock and Awe" operations eight days ago.

Mr. De Villepin also warned against the potentially destabilising policy of "pre-emptive action" and urged the international community to pull together and rebuild "shattered" world relations.

"We have a sad experience with the United Nations and we are not inclined to repeat the experience" Mr. Powell told the Senate, referring to the acrimonious debates and violent exchanges at the Security Council between representatives of France, Germany and Russia in the one hand and those of the United States and Britain on the other, over the question of declaring war on Iraq.

At his meeting with President George W. Bush at Camp David, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has suggested that he wants to bridge the gap between London and Washington with Paris by proposing that reconstruction and an interim administration is endorsed by the UN.

President Bush and UK’s Prime Minister Tony Blair, in a joint call on Thursday, called for the immediate resumption of the United Nations oil-for-food programme to fund humanitarian relief for civilians in Iraq.

Speaking after talks with Mr Blair at Camp David, Mr Bush referred to haggling in the UN Security Council about the resumed use of funds held by the UN under the programme. "This urgent humanitarian issue must not be politicised. The Security Council should give Secretary-General Kofi Annan the authority to start getting food supplies to those most in need of assistance", Mr Bush said, with Mr Blair also saying the issue was "urgent".

France also said that a white cheque for the food for oil programme would "legitimise" the war on Iraq.

United States itself was studying new language proposed by British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock that would eliminate a direct reference to a U.S.-British role in coordinating the program and underline Iraq's sovereignty over its oil wealth.

Moscow's U.N. ambassador, Sergei Lavrov, indicated he might still be open to a compromise, however, telling the Security Council, "We are prepared to resolve the questions of temporary amendments of procedures of the oil-for-food program."

In another development, the US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ruled out any possibility of halting the war, saying on Thursday that the Iraq war would "not stop until President Saddam Hussein was removed from power".

"I have no idea what some country might propose, but there isn't going to be a cease-fire", he said as U.S.-led forces pressed through Iraq's southern desert toward Baghdad in a week-long thrust to remove Saddam.

As the Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Revolution of Iraq (SAIRI) has said it would remain neutral in the conflict, taking no side in favour of the Americans or Saddam Hoseyn, the six-members Iraqi opposition leadership called Thursday for a popular uprising to liberate the country from Iraqi ``dictatorship'' and outlined a detailed plan for the future of Iraq, the Associated Press said.

The provisory leadership for the post-Saddam transitory period urged the Iraqi armed forces to "sever ties with the Baghdad regime'' and join them.

The statement, the agency said was faxed from Damascus by the office of the Patriotic Union of (the Iraqi) Kurdistan) runs against the declarations of the Tehran-based SAIRI, which, on Wednesday, also said it would not allow its forces, the al-Badr Brigade, to enter Iraq "until the war continue" and at the same time warned the United States not to "occupy" Iraq.

``The Iraqi opposition command, out of a sense of responsibility to save the army and people of Iraq ... calls on the people of Iraq in northern, central and southern Iraq to prepare for an uprising. The Iraqi armed forces should reject carrying out orders of the tyrants and avoid turning their members into fuel for a destructive and losing war'', the statement said.