MUNICH, Feb 13: Nato's hopes of playing global policeman to deal with new security challenges secured support from several senior foreign and defence officials attending an international conference on security in Munich on Sunday.

The backing is a welcome boost for an organization which has been looking for a new role following the end of the Cold War. But the alliance was also warned by non Western officials that its presence would not be welcomed in regions such as the Middle East.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder inadvertently sparked the debate in Munich by saying that Nato was "no longer the primary venue where transatlantic partners discuss and coordinate strategies".

Mr Schroeder's message, as delivered to the meeting by German Defence Minister Peter Struck, was that an upgrading of transatlantic ties must involve the European Union. The German leader did not attend the conference because of the flu.

While German diplomats insisted the chancellor's remarks had been misinterpreted, US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld immediately jumped to Nato's defence.

Alliance chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer insisted that far from taking a back seat in world affairs, Nato was ready and willing to help keep any future peace in the Middle East.