European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana says he expects EU leaders to agree that war may be necessary against Iraq but only after all peaceful options are exhausted.
Speaking before the 15 leaders were due to hold an emergency summit on the crisis on Monday, he sought to bridge the divide between pro-American nations led by Britain and Spain, and states led by France and Germany that oppose a rush to war.
"Everybody recognises war is the last resort," Mr Solana told reporters. "I think everybody agrees war may be necessary at a given moment, but we are not at this point. We have to exhaust all the elements of diplomacy and all the elements of keeping [UN weapons] inspectors working."
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has so far ruled out backing military action against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, even if the United Nations Security Council were to approve it.
Mr Solana, whose role as the EU's foreign policy spokesman has been largely neutered by the absence of a consensus on the crisis, said the arms inspectors should be given the resources they need to verify Iraq's disarmament of suspected weapons of mass destruction.
"They may need time, they may need intelligence, they may need means. It is for the EU to try to help the inspectors, in particular the chief inspectors, to obtain what they need," he said.
Mr Solana said: "Everybody agrees the role of the inspectors is fundamental - fundamental today, fundamental tomorrow for any other crisis of proliferation that may arise in the world".
Arranged at less than a week's notice by current European Union president Greece, the meeting has turned into not just a debate about Iraq but a defining test of whether Europe can speak with one voice when it counts.
"I hope very much that today all the leaders of the EU will do their utmost to come at the end the day with a position that will be common," Mr Solana said. "This is the best service that we can do for peace".