UNITED NATIONS, Aug 15: The United Nations Security Council on Thursday adopted a resolution welcoming the 25-member Iraqi governing council and created a UN mission to help in the rebuilding of Iraq.

The 15-member council approved the resolution with a 14-0 vote, with Syria abstaining.

The resolution also gave an initial 12-month mandate to the new UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, which has been operating on emergency funding until now. The formal mandate will allow it to be funded in the regular UN budget.

The governing council is an interim administrative body with a rotating presidency set up in mid-July.

It remains a contentious issue with the Arab nations as the Arab League adopted a resolution saying that it would not recognize it and would wait instead until Iraq was led by an elected government.

However, diplomats here pointed out that the approval of the US-drafted resolution showed a broad acceptance of the governing council as a transitional body.

“This resolution helps pave the way towards peace, stability and democracy that the long afflicted Iraqi people so richly deserve,” US Ambassador John Negroponte said after the vote. “It also sends a clear signal to those who oppose the political transformation under way in Iraq that they are out of step with world opinion.”

The resolution welcomes the Iraqi council “as an important step towards the formation by the people of Iraq of an internationally recognized, representative government” with sovereignty in Iraq.