At the same time, the United States and Britain are drafting a resolution to present to the United Nations Security Council that would give the UN a humanitarian but not a peacekeeping role in Iraq.

The six European countries — Spain, Italy, Denmark, Bulgaria, Ukraine and the Netherlands — have agreed to contribute troops to the British and Polish sectors, the Bush Administration said last night.

The troops forming the stabilisation force will be sent to Iraq as soon as possible, officials said, and will work to restore and maintain order and supervise humanitarian projects. They will augment rather than replace the 135,000 American troops already in Iraq.

Representatives of the six countries will meet British officials next week and Polish officials on May 22 to determine what forces each country will contribute and whether they will be put under British or Polish command.

The US element of the force is expected to number 20,000, but the strength of the other two sectors has yet to be determined. The force would be under General Tommy Franks, the US war commander.

Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, said yesterday that the more troops other countries contribute, the fewer US troops will be needed in Iraq. Planning for both the UN resolution and the stabilisation force did not involve France, Germany and Russia, who opposed the war in Iraq.

The draft resolution limiting the UN role is likely to face opposition from Security Council members who favour a more prominent role for the UN in post-Saddam Iraq.

Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, said this week, however, that the UN has no interest in policing a postwar Iraq, although it could contribute to the political revival of the country. “Take the question of security. I don’t think the UN would want to take on that,” he said. “There has been a suggestion that the UN wanted to take over the whole Iraq and run it, which was also not the case.” What the UN could contribute beyond humanitarian assistance was “political facilitation”, he said.

Mr Rumsfeld discussed the resolution yesterday with Tony Blair and Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, as he returned to the United States from a tour of Afghanistan and the Gulf. Mr Rumsfeld said afterwards that he hoped the UN would play a role but did not discuss the draft resolution outlining that role.

Times Recommends

• Karadzic found freedom in the Madhouse
• Bears kill guards at Russian mine
• Hotel is a monument to new North Korea