US President George W Bush has agreed to seek a new UN Security Council resolution to give the world body a greater role in Iraq and authorise a multinational force for the war-torn country.

Also see: Troops to Iraq only under UN: India

The decision to begin negotiations with the council members to seek a UN mandate for multinational force, which would make it easier for more foreign countries to contribute troops for Iraq, came after a meeting Bush had with Secretary of State Colin Powell on Tuesday afternoon.

A draft resolution could be circulated as early as next week to provide basis for discussion with other members of the council, media reported.

India, France and Russia are among the countries that have refused to contribute troops for Iraq stabilisation force, but offered to reconsider their stand should the operation be mandated by the United Nations.

However, Bush still wants the force to be commanded by an American, which might not be acceptable to France and
Russia, who, other than troops, are also expected to contribute financial resources for Iraq's reconstruction.

It is yet unclear how much authority the US would be willing to hand over to the UN and whether it would be prepared to allow Paris and Moscow a say in decision-making, something on which negotiations could break down.

The New York Times sees the decision as a tacit admission that the current American-dominated force in Iraq is stretched too thin.