NOORDWIJK, The Netherlands (AFP) - Agreement on expanding a NATO training mission in Iraq remained blocked with several countries still expressing reservations, NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer revealed.
But he said he hopes a compromise accord can be reached to expand the mission, which has notably faced French resistance over its precise command structure.
France, Spain and Belgium were among countries still not satisfied, according to diplomats.
"As it stands now not all 26 allies are complety happy," de Hoop Scheffer said on the sidelines of a meeting of EU defence ministers. "But I`m very optimistic we can reach an agreement very soon on the remaining points."
But he sought to downplay the remaining differences. "I think it will not be on too many substantial issues. We`re still discussing financing, force protection," he said.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders agreed at a summit in Istanbul in June to launch the training mission, after overcoming reservations from Paris which objected to operations under a NATO flag inside Iraq.
NATO already has some 40 soldiers in Iraq who began training army officers in collaboration with the defence ministry in Baghdad. The issue of the command structure led to a stormy debate in July, notably between the US and France.
French Defence Minister Michelle Alliot-Marie said the foreign ministry in Paris was still considering its options. "For the moment it is being discussed with the Quai d`Orsay," she said, referring to the foreign ministry offices.
British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon appeared to assume that an agreement was virtually in the bag. "The NATO training mission is important, and we`re delighted that we`ve got this agreement," he told reporters.
"It`s something that we want to see happen," he added, speaking at almost exactly the same time as the NATO chief.