The five permanent members of the UN Security Council have failed to agree on practical steps to transfer political power to the people of Iraq.
After hosting a meeting in Geneva, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said they all shared "the aspiration to transfer power to the Iraqi people as soon as possible" but further talks were needed to iron out differences.
The timetable and manner of that transfer has proved a deeply divisive issue, rekindling memories of the split between France and the United States in the run-up to the Iraq war, says the BBC's Gordon Corera at the talks.
Consensus is essential and achievable
Kofi Annan
France has suggested the establishment of a new Iraqi Government in a month, a draft constitution by the end of the year and elections by next spring.
But US Secretary of State Colin Powell has dismissed this as "totally unrealistic".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3105954.stm