Nato may have a role to play in the future reconstruction of Iraq but should concentrate first on its mission in Afghanistan, the alliance's new secretary-general said on Monday.
"The primary focus at the moment should be on Afghanistan," former Dutch Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said as he arrived at Nato headquarters outside Brussels to take up his new post.
"Iraq of course will also be on the agenda at a certain stage but let's take the events step by step," he added.
Nato ended years of debate last year over whether it should operate beyond Europe and North America by taking over the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan after the US-led campaign to oust the ruling Taleban in 2001.
As another US-led coalition seeks to rebuild Iraq after the removal of Saddam Hussein, Nato is again facing questions over whether it has a role to play there. It is already supporting a division in Iraq from alliance member Poland.
Asked if the United States was likely to want Nato to play a larger role in Iraq, de Hoop Scheffer said it was possible.
"It is certainly not to be excluded of course that that could be a development... Of course that will depend on the political developments as they take place and as they take shape in Iraq in the coming months," he said.
But following Afghanistan's agreement on a new constitution on Sunday, he stressed the alliance's commitment to continue its mission there.
"We've heard the....result of the Loya Jirga, and I think the alliance should pursue what was set in motion, and that is focus on Afghanistan. And about Iraq we'll see, and wait, and of course influence, if possible, political developments."
De Hoop Scheffer, 55, took over from Britain's George Robertson, returning to Nato 20 years after working there as a Dutch diplomat.
The alliance, founded in 1949 to counter a threat from the Soviet Union and its military allies in Eastern Europe, will admit seven new members later this year.
De Hoop Scheffer said his priorities would be overseeing the smooth integration of the new member states, "building bridges across the Atlantic Ocean" and focusing on Afghanistan.
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