The leaders of Germany, France and Britain held a summit Saturday in a bid to find common ground on stabilizing Iraq and avoid the kind of diplomatic disputes that divided Europe before the war, the AP reported.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac, who opposed military action, were joined by British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The leaders planned two hours of talks at the chancellory before a news conference Saturday afternoon.
The three will discuss broadening the international force in Iraq.
On the summit's eve, the European Union's foreign policy chief was quoted as saying that "strong" EU participation in rebuilding Iraq depended on a clear U.N. mandate and a timetable for handing power to the Iraqis.
"It must lay out the precise political role of the UN," Javier Solana told the German daily Die Welt. "In addition we need a timeline for turning power over to the Iraqis. These are the requirements for a strong EU engagement in the reconstruction."
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