"It's going to be a long day ... everybody has got to give," a NATO official said as ambassadors representing the 26 members of the alliance adjourned their sixth inconclusive meeting on the subject in three days. He added that the sticking point was "unity of command".

"We're close but not quite there," said another. The adjournment was expected to allow delegations to consult their governments.

The United States says that, for the sake of military efficiency, the training mission should come under the US-led coalition force already in Iraq.

But France, a leading opponent of last year's invasion, is suspicious of what the official called "the political significance" that could be given to such an arrangement, and is against any move which would allow the coalition to fly the North Atlantic Treaty Organization flag.

NATO agreed in principle at its summit in Istanbul last month to provide training to Iraqi forces after the formal handover of powers to an interim government in Baghdad, but summit leaders left details to be hammered out.

"I think everybody is looking for a solution ... there are a lot of consultations going on with capitals," the official said.

He and others acknowledged that a drawn-out disagreement could damage NATO's credibility.

In Paris earlier, a foreign ministry source said the question of a link between the training mission and the coalition force could be examined again in September following the report of a group of 20-30 NATO officers that France proposes to send to Baghdad in August.

"We have reached a real problem: to what degree the training mission will be merged or not into the multi-national force down the road," said a French official, adding that other countries backed that position.

"For France and five or six other countries this is a problem," he said.

The US, which has long pushed for a bigger NATO role in Iraq where American troops have been struggling to contain mounting violence, is pushing hard for an accord.

A NATO military delegation led by US admiral Gregory Johnson was dispatched to Iraq at the start of July to study options for the mission. Diplomats said a second military mission could be sent to Iraq to clarify options.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Monday that he hoped for an agreement by the end of this week on a training mission, both inside and outside Iraq.

Earlier this month Iraq's interim Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, part of the Iraqi administration which took over in June, urged NATO to quickly make good on its promise to train security forces.

Zebari said authorities were "in a race against the clock" in their effort to ensure stability.

Crime has soared in Iraq following the US-led invasion, with convicts released by ex-leader Saddam Hussein fueling insecurity while politically-motivated kidnappings of foreign nationals soar.

Another NATO official denied Wednesday that the differences were in any way comparable to the splits which shook NATO to its foundations in the run-up to last year's US-led war against Iraq.

On that occasion France, Germany and Belgium effectively paralyzed the alliance -- which requires unanimity for all decisions -- by refusing to allow NATO to come to Turkey's aid.

"NATO is very keen to finalize this package... but don't look for repetitions. History does not repeat itself," the official said.

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