Several countries apparently are resisting the Saudi proposal to set up a Muslim force to bolster the US-led coalition of troops in Iraq, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has said.

In an interview with Al-Hayat, a Saudi-owned newspaper based in London, Armitage said that it was a "genuine gesture" on behalf of the Saudi Government.

They (Saudis) are really seeking a peaceful resolution of the problems of Iraq "but I don't see much willingness on the part of many of the governments of the region, or farther beyond, to send troops," he said.

"Discussions will continue with those countries to see if they may be willing to," Armitage said in the interview text of which was released by the State Department on Thursday.

The Saudis have suggested that coalition forces would be withdrawn as Muslim troops take up positions in Iraq. Their primary job would be to protect UN officials, but they also could be used to help guard the borders against armed infiltrators.

While Jordan has expressed some interest, the Saudis and the interim Iraqi government were concentrating on enlisting distant Muslim countries, including Pakistan and Bangladesh. Armitage said King Mohamed VI of

Morocco was approached, but Morocco has decided "that's not the best use of its forces."

He confirmed there also was discussion with Pakistan and Bangladesh and more recently with some of the states of the former Soviet Union.

Meanwhile, the United Nations will remain a high value, high impact target for insurgents in Iraq and that would limit its staff and activity in the foreseeable future, Secretary General Kofi Annan said in a new report.

Staff security, he says, remains the overriding constraint for all UN operations and characterizes the risk to its personnel as high to critical and added that the world body lacks means to protect its personnel.