Blair urges global reforms, seeks Iraq support

PARIS, May 27 (Reuters) British Prime Minister Tony Blair repeated his call for reform of world bodies like the United Nations and the World Bank and urged more international support for Iraq in an article published in a French newspaper.

''More and more, a gap is opening up between globalised problems and the institutions responsible for solving them,'' he said in a guest article for the French Journal du Dimanche newspaper released today ahead of publication.

The comments echoed a speech made in Washington yesterday in which Blair urged the differences created by the war in Iraq to be put aside so that wider problems of stability in the world could be addressed.

He said reforms of the U.N security Council, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and the Group of Eight industrial nations as well as a multilateral system of safe nuclear enrichment should be priorities.

''After the upsets and disagreements of past years, we have a real opportunity to join together -- to attack terrorism, have an effective global financial system, get safe, clean energy and to dress old wounds, above all in making progress towards the so-called 'two state' solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,'' Blair said.

''We're all hungry for stability and afraid of chaos. That's a consequence of interdependence,'' he said.

France was one of the most prominent opponents of the US-led war in Iraq, in which Blair was Washington's staunchest ally and the scars caused by the falling out have taken a long time to heal.

During Blair's visit to Washington, U.S. President George W.

Bush admitted mistakes in Iraq in a move analysts interpreted as a move to build credibility for his efforts to gain international support in Iraq.

''I think we all have the same -- very strong -- interest in supporting democracy in Iraq,'' Blair said. ''The war divided the world. The struggle of the Iraqis for democracy should reconcile it,'' he said.

REUTERS CH KP2222