U.N. to propose template in May for Iraq's Kirkuk

By Paul Taylor

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United Nations will suggest a formula next month to resolve conflicts on several disputed areas in Iraq that could serve as a template for the future of Kirkuk, a senior U.N. official said on Friday.

Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. special representative in Iraq, said he would propose options by May 15 for deciding under which authority to put four disputed locations, not including Kirkuk. He declined to identify them but said they would set an example.

"This could show how Kirkuk could be handled. It is certainly a template for similar and other bigger problems," he told reporters after talks with NATO and European Union officials.

He urged NATO to step up its training of Iraqi police officers to help stabilize the country, doubling the number of recruits under training from the current 1,500.

He urged the EU to continue to support U.N. operations in Iraq financially and to use its political influence to urge the Baghdad government to pass a crucial oil law and use the improved security situation to restore public services.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will visit Brussels next week for talks with EU officials.

Kirkuk, an oil-rich northern city which lies just outside the Kurdish region but is claimed by the Kurds, is one of the most sensitive flashpoints in Iraq.

Former President Saddam Hussein, overthrown in a U.S.-led invasion in 2003, forced many of its Kurdish inhabitants out of Kirkuk and replaced them with Sunni Arabs in a systematic policy of ethnic cleansing.