BRUSSELS, July 29 (AFP) - NATO ambassadors met again Thursday to try to resolve differences over a pledge to train Iraqi security forces, with France notably blocking an accord, diplomats said.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders agreed at a summit in Istanbul last month to provide such training after the handover of powers to Bagdhad from the US-led coalition, but left details to be hammered out.
The French government is standing firm in resisting an Alliance mission in Iraq itself, pressing for training to take place outside the war-scarred country, diplomats say.
The United States, which has long pushed for a bigger NATO role in Iraq where American troops have been struggling to contain mounting violence, is pushing hard for an accord.
A NATO military delegation led by US admiral Gregory Johnson was dispatched to Iraq at the start of July to study options for the mission. Diplomats said a second military mission could be sent to Iraq to clarify options.
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Monday that he hoped for an agreement by the end of this week on a training mission, both inside and outside Iraq.
Earlier this month Iraq's interim Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, part of the Iraqi administration which took over in June, urged NATO to make good quickly on its promise to train security forces.
Zebari said authorities were "in a race against the clock" in their effort to ensure stability.
Crime has soared in Iraq following the US-led invasion with convicts released by Saddam roaming free, creating deep insecurity as crooks seize Iraqis citizens for ransom and extremist networks behead foreign hostages for political reasons.
Another NATO official denied earlier Wednesday that the differences were in any way comparable to the splits which shook NATO to its foundations in the run-up to last year's US-led war against Iraq.
On that occasion France, Germany and Belgium effectively paralyzed the Alliance -- which requires unanimity for all decisions -- by refusing to allow NATO to come to Turkey's aid.
"NATO is very keen to finalize this package... but don't look for repetitions. History does not repeat itself," the official said.