BRUSSELS, March 3: Italy threw its weight on Wednesday behind a U.S. proposal to promote democracy, prosperity and stability across the Greater Middle East , and called on the NATO security alliance to play a key role.

In a speech to NATO envoys, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the regional initiative was crucial to deal with threats such as terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction which have come to the fore since the September 11, 2001, hijacked aircraft attacks on U.S. cities.

But, echoing contributions to the debate by Germany and France, he said the initiative must be based on the "root causes of tension" in the Middle East, and he underlined the political - rather than military - role NATO could play.

Frattini told a news conference that if NATO was seen in the region as a force for political dialogue rather than military action it could become "an acceptable point of reference" for countries which have doubts about the West's intentions.

He also sketched a vision that dovetails with the view expressed by European partners that reform must not be imposed from outside. "The impetus...must come from the region itself, as we must avoid the impression that our initiative has a patronising approach and is imposed from outside. The accent should therefore be on the ownership of the process," he said.

Unlike Washington, the European Union sees progress towards a solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an essential ingredient of the initiative being prepared for Group of Eight, European Union-U.S. and NATO summits in June.

"The process will undoubtedly benefit from clear and substantial progress towards a solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict," said Frattini, whose country is one of the United States' closest European allies.

Earlier on Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana had said it would be hard to achieve reform in the Arab world without progress on Middle East peace.

"The peace process always has to be at the centre of whatever initiative is in the field," Solana said. Senior U.S. State Department official Marc Grossman, visiting Cairo on Tuesday, said the democracy plan should not depend on a settlement of the Middle East conflict, but his host, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, said the conflict created tensions which complicated the process of reform.

Officials say the U.S. plan is to offer countries from Morocco to Afghanistan trade deals, political engagement and military support in exchange for democratic reform.

It also envisages pouring Western cash into promoting free elections, women's empowerment, judicial reform and market economies. Grossman is due to address NATO ambassadors on the initiative on Friday. -Reuters