US Secretary of State Colin Powell began talks Thursday with his European counterparts focussing on rebuilding Iraq after the war, officials said.

Powell, in bilateral talks ahead of an extraordinary joint gathering of EU and NATO foreign ministers, also met NATO chief George Robertson.

The talks, which could also help mend shattered diplomatic fences with Europe over Iraq, were aimed at discussing reconstruction and plans for an interim authority in Iraq, Powell said.

"I want to hear ideas from them about reconstruction and contributions the EU will be able to make," he said before arriving in Brussels late Wednesday.

On Thursday morning he first met Robertson, who is hosting the talks, followed by the foreign ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain and

Italy.

He was also due to meet during the morning with French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, whose country led European opposition to the war on Iraq.

Diplomats have warned his task will be delicate as anti-war countries focus on demands for a central role for the United Nations after the conflict.

But the meetings are also "a sign that nobody wants to be cut off from the Americans for a long time, above all if one wants to have an influence on what happens after the war," one diplomat said.

Among others, Powell will hold one-on-one talks with his counterparts from France and Russia, Dominique de Villepin and Igor Ivanov, whose countries have led opposition to the war.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, diametrically opposed on

the war, will also be among ministers lunching with Powell in Brussels.

Security will be tight for the talks, with activists in fiercely anti-war Belgium announcing plans for demonstrations outside NATO headquarters where the meetings will take place.

Powell will notably attend a meeting of NATO's decision-making North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of foreign ministers.

NATO was plunged into an unprecedented crisis in February after three anti-war countries blocked a US request to help boost Turkey's defences in preparation for a war.

The row was resolved after a deal bypassed France. But Germany and Belgium, while reluctantly agreeing, have since threatened to withdraw their support if Turkish troops move into northern Iraq.

That issue is likely to be discussed at Thursday's talks, which come after

Powell visited Ankara on Wednesday.

He said that there was no need for Turkey to send military forces into northern Iraq as US forces there had the situation "under control."

Meanwhile Powell will also have a joint meeting with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, the EU Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten and Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou.

The European Union, while deeply split between the French-led anti-war camp and the pro-US group led by Britain, is mostly agreed on the need for a "central" role for the United Nations.

A NATO official declined to be drawn on hopes for reconciliation.

"There will be open and frank discussions, as diplomats say," he said, adding: "We should not be over ambitious."