"Frankly, the search for WMD (weapons of mass destruction) is complicated, but there are two teams tasked with this search and all we can do is wait for the result," Foreign Minister Ana Palacio said on a brief official visit to Romania.

Washington and its main ally Britain used allegations that Saddam Hussein built up a arsenal of dangerous banned weapons as their principal justification for launching the war against Iraq on March 20.

But doubts have been fanned by the allies' inability to find any solid evidence since the end of the war of a weapons programme in Iraq, with the British and US administrations mired in rows over the quality of the intelligence used to sway public and lawmakers' opinion in the build-up to war.

The British government has been under particular pressure after the apparent suicide of a defence ministry weapons expert who was the anonymous source of a BBC news report -- hotly denied by Downing Street -- that a key dossier last September on Iraq had exaggerated the threat of the alleged arsenal.

Palacio, whose country currently holds the presidency of the UN Security Council, described the death of the expert David Kelly as an "enormous tragedy" which has highlighted the complexity of Iraqi weapons issue.

The foreign minister, who visited Iraq Saturday, expressed optimism over security in the country, despite the string of fatal attacks against US soldiers following the end of major combat operations.

"I do not want to play down the situation in terms of security in Iraq, but after my recent visit to the country I just want to say that the last developments have been rather positive," she said.

WAR.WIRE