British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair has again refused to define the point at which the UN might assume responsibility for the interim administration of a post-conflict Iraq. And 10 Downing Street continues to reject suggestions that Britain's desire for United Nations endorsement of the post-war arrangements is at odds with the position of the United States.
At the same time, Mr Blair and his Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, have moved to reassure Arab and British Labour Party opinion by seeming to distance themselves from recent US warnings to Syria and Iran.
While it was important that Syria ensured its territory was not being used "as a conduit" for military supplies to Iraq, Mr Straw said he was not concerned by impressions that America might think to target those countries next. "It would worry me if it were true," he told the BBC. "It is not true and we would have nothing whatever to do with an approach like that."
Challenged by left-winger Mr Jeremy Corbyn to give an assurance that there was no question of coalition forces invading Iran or Syria, or of any further Turkish incursions into northern Iraq, Mr Blair later told MPs: "As myself and [Mr Straw] have made clear on many occasions, we have absolutely no plans to do the things of which you are, I suppose, accusing us. In relation to Turkey, we have made it clear it is important Turkey abides by agreements we have made with them - and I have to say so far they are."
Mr Blair side-stepped questions from Conservative leader Mr Iain Duncan Smith and Liberal Democrat leader Mr Charles Kennedy about how Iraq would be governed when the war was over.
Mr Duncan Smith said clearly British troops would be involved in an "interim" period of reconstruction and asked what their legal position would be in the absence of a UN resolution at that point. Mr Blair said the coalition forces would have certain "legal obligations" once the conflict was over: "The moment the conflict ends it's important to have in place a UN resolution that governs the situation".