Europe's three biggest powers still differ on their approach on how fast the United States should hand back sovereignty to the Iraqi people, according to the French President Jacques Chirac.
"Our views are not quite convergent," Mr Chirac said after a Berlin summit with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"On the technicalities and timetable, we are still not fully agreed," the French leader added. Mr Chirac and Mr Schroeder, fierce opponents of the US-led war that toppled Saddam Hussein, now want a much more influential role for the UN and a faster handover of power to Iraqis.
"It's important to give the United Nations a bigger role," Mr Schroeder said. France and Germany are both members of the UN Security Council, where Washington is seeking a fresh resolution to persuade other countries to share the financial and military burden of stabilising and rebuilding Iraq.
Mr Chirac restated France's position that Iraq, now under US administration, must regain sovereignty within months. US Secretary of State Colin Powell has ridiculed the notion that Washington could hand back power overnight.
Mr Blair, by contrast, was keen to stress the common ground between the three leaders. "We all want to see a stable Iraq. We all want to see Iraq make a transition to democratic government as swiftly as possible. We all want to see, and know there must be, a key role for the United Nations," he said.
"I think whatever the different positions on the conflict, the entire world has an interest in seeing those things happen. For myself, I am sure that whatever differences there are, they can be resolved, and I am sure they will be."
The brief summit offered an opportunity for all sides to mend relations that were badly damaged by Blair's unswerving support - political and military - for the US-led invasion of Iraq in March.