PARIS, Nov 13: The moment has come for an urgent change of US policy on Iraq, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said on Thursday, urging Washington to hand over power as quickly as possible to the Iraqi people.

“The international community cannot wait any longer,” the minister told Europe 1 radio.

“There are some American representatives on the ground who continue to hold the old, typical language used by all ... occupation governments: We need a little more time. Well time, sadly, means more people dead,” he said.

But the foreign minister also promised French support for the American administration, which he said was facing a “tragic crisis.”

“Today we are ready to take part in any meeting, any consultation. Our hand is held out to our American friends because the challenge affects us all. The security of the world is at stake,” he said.

Alarmed by the growing death toll of army personnel in Iraq, the United States is believed to be examining ways of accelerating the transfer of authority there, and de Villepin’s remarks were seen as a call to re-open international debate over the country’s future.

The minister said a “representative assembly” of Iraqis should be set up before the end of this year. “I hear speak of summer 2004 as a deadline — all this is far too late. The situation is urgent,” he said.

Under UN Security Council resolution 1511 voted through last month, the US-appointed governing council in Iraq (IGC) has until December 15 to draw up a timetable for a new constitution.

France led the opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq — since when relations between Washington and Paris have been poisoned by mistrust — but de Villepin said France remained a “friend and ally” and would continue to offer “solidarity, ideas and courage.” —AFP