President George Bush has confirmed that Washington is drafting a fresh UN resolution on Iraq which could be ready for consideration by the Security Council within days.
Mr Bush said the US was working with 'friends and allies' to see if it could get a second resolution.
However, he repeated his belief that UN backing, while useful, was not necessary for a war against Iraq.
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson is set to visit Washington tomorrow.
EU determined to avoid rifts
The European Union has issued a joint declaration with the 13 candidate countries saying that they are determined to avoid rifts after differences emerged over the crisis in Iraq.
Representatives from the 13 future EU members have been attending a briefing in Brussels on yesterday's EU emergency summit on Iraq.
The French President, Jacques Chirac, had criticised some of the applicants for aligning themselves too readily with the American position.
Earlier today the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, repeated his belief that there should be a second UN resolution before military action is taken against Iraq.
Speaking at a Downing Street news conference, Mr Blair said he understood the concerns of those who had demonstrated against war last weekend but that he continued to believe that there was another side of the argument.
He said they should listen to the voices of Iraqi exiles who had suffered under Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Mr Blair defended his policy on Iraq as a humane necessity.
These have been Mr Blair's first public comments since a new opinion poll, published in the Guardian newspaper, showed that his personal popularity among the British people has dropped significantly, and that a majority of the population are against war.
Ahern 'heartened' by peace march
Meanwhile, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen has told the Dáil the Government does not want to see military action against Iraq without a second UN resolution .
Earlier the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he was heartened by the turnout for Saturday's anti war march.
However Labour leader Pat Rabbite decried as 'hypocrisy' any suggestion that demonstrators were backing the Government's stance.
Campaigners to intensify peace quest
The three organisations behind last Saturday's peace rally say they intend to intensify their campaign for peace.
At a news conference this morning the NGO peace Alliance, together with the Irish Anti-War Movement and PANA called for an immediate meeting with the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen.
They said that they wanted to express the wishes of the 100,000 Irish people who are demanding the closure of Shannon Airport for the re-fuelling of American planes on their way to the impending war on Iraq.
The protest organisers said they will be outlining a series of rallies to be held in the event of US military attacks on Iraq.
