UNITED NATIONS, Feb 4: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Tuesday that a United Nations team heading to Iraq to help break the impasse over creating a transitional government is expecting White House support for its recommendations.

Following a meeting with the US President George.W. Bush at the White House, Mr Annan said that "the UN team is going in to help the Iraqi people design a mechanism for the establishment of a provisional government."

"I have always maintained that the Iraqis must have control of their political and economic destiny and we are going to help them work out this problem and hopefully they will come to some consensus and agreement as to how to move forward.

I think that kind of consensus and agreement will be very helpful to the process. And, we are going to work with them and help them find a way forward," Annan said.

President Bush is seeking United Nations intervention after US plans to hand over Iraq were thrown into quandary.