United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has warned that a US-led war against Iraq without Security Council backing would break international law.
Mr Annan said the world was united in wanting to strip Iraqi President Saddam Hussein of any weapons of mass destruction, but insisted that peaceful means must be exhausted first.
The warning came as the United States engaged in frantic diplomacy to win enough backing in the UN Security Council for a resolution authorising war on Iraq.
US President George W Bush, however, has repeatedly insisted that he will lead a "coalition of the willing" to disarm Iraq by force if Washington fails to win the Security Council's support.
"If the United States goes outside the Security Council, it will not be in conformity with the United Nations charter," Mr Annan told reporters during a break in talks on Cyprus being held in Amsterdam.
"The members of the Security Council now face a great choice," he said.
"If they fail to agree on a common position, and action is taken without the authority of the Security Council, the legitimacy and support for any such action will be seriously impaired."
Mr Annan denied the UN would be sidelined if the US does launch action against Iraq without Security Council backing.
"Whichever way this conflict is resolved, the United Nations will have an important role to play," he said, citing its reconstruction work in places such as Kosovo.
But he added: "War must always be the last resort. The United Nations has a duty to search to the very end for a peaceful solution."
AFP