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The UK and Spain are urging the European Union not to rule out the use of force against Iraq at a hastily arranged meeting on Monday in Brussels.
But they may have an uphill struggle after millions of people marched in European anti-war protests at the weekend.
Belgium is pressing for an alternative statement supporting United Nations efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. Turkey, meanwhile, is delaying a decision on allowing United States troops to use the country as a base to open a northern front in a possible war with Iraq.
Ankara's decision to commit itself only after it agrees a compensation package with the US comes a day after Nato overcame a damaging split over defending the country.
The transatlantic alliance on Sunday reached a face-saving deal which the US hailed as a "very big step forward".
France - a key objector - was not represented at the session where the alliance decided to send defensive equipment to Turkey, the only Nato member that borders Iraq.
More information
On Monday, Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said Ankara and Washington needed to clarify the political, economic and military aspects of any deployment of US troops in Turkey. It would otherwise be difficult to convince parliament to approve the deployment, he said, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Mr Gul is attending talks with EU leaders in Brussels on Monday. Turkey is not a member of the union.
France, Germany and Greece - which currently holds the presidency of the EU - have infuriated the US with their warnings against war. On the other side, Britain, Spain and Italy are among the chief backers of the United States' tough stance against Saddam Hussein, who has been ordered by the United Nations to disarm.
Those three nations saw some of the largest anti-war protests during a global day of action on Saturday. More than one million people marched in each of London, Barcelona and Rome, calling on their leaders not to back an invasion.
'Last resort'
The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, tried to highlight areas of agreement in comments before the start of the crisis meeting.
"Everybody recognises war is the last resort," he said.
"I think everybody agrees war may be necessary at a given moment, but we are not at this point.
"We have to exhaust all the elements of diplomacy and all the elements of keeping [UN weapons] inspectors working."
A second UN Security Council resolution, explicitly authorising the use of force, may still be formally tabled.
In the meantime, weapons inspectors are carrying on their task of verifying Iraq's claims that it has no weapons of mass destruction.
While the US and UK argue that Iraq should not be allowed to use inspectors merely as a delaying tactic, France and Germany say their work is not yet done.
Arriving at the summit, UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw repeated his government's view that "time is running out for Iraq".
United Nations input
BBC Europe correspondent Tim Franks says no-one believes that, at the end of the summit, any leader will have shifted his stance on Iraq.
But he says that, at some point, countries will have to decide whether and how they can salvage the broken dream of a common European foreign policy.
The BBC's William Horsley adds that the heads of government are likely to agree that the UN has a central role.
As such, he says, the attendance at the summit of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will be a key factor.
France shut out
The talks follow the approval by Nato's 18-member defence planning committee of the US proposal for assisting Turkey.
The plan - scaled back during talks - now involves the provision of Patriot anti-missile batteries, Awacs surveillance planes and biological and chemical protection units.
Germany and Belgium dropped their objections. France, which is not represented on the committee, did not take part in the discussions. The French pulled out of Nato's military structures in 1966, and participate only in political consultations.
"Alliance solidarity has prevailed," Lord Robertson, Nato's secretary general, said. "We have been able collectively to overcome the impasse."
Lord Robertson stressed that the Nato assistance to Turkey would be purely defensive.
The US ambassador to Nato, Nicholas Burns, hailing the accord, said he expected the alliance to agree over the next couple of days to begin implementing the deal.
The US is also hoping that Ankara will allow at least one army division to be stationed there in the run-up to possible military action.
Turkish public opinion is overwhelmingly opposed to any war with Iraq. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2770175.stm
But they may have an uphill struggle after millions of people marched in European anti-war protests at the weekend.
Belgium is pressing for an alternative statement supporting United Nations efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. Turkey, meanwhile, is delaying a decision on allowing United States troops to use the country as a base to open a northern front in a possible war with Iraq.
Ankara's decision to commit itself only after it agrees a compensation package with the US comes a day after Nato overcame a damaging split over defending the country.
The transatlantic alliance on Sunday reached a face-saving deal which the US hailed as a "very big step forward".
France - a key objector - was not represented at the session where the alliance decided to send defensive equipment to Turkey, the only Nato member that borders Iraq.
More information
On Monday, Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said Ankara and Washington needed to clarify the political, economic and military aspects of any deployment of US troops in Turkey. It would otherwise be difficult to convince parliament to approve the deployment, he said, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Mr Gul is attending talks with EU leaders in Brussels on Monday. Turkey is not a member of the union.
France, Germany and Greece - which currently holds the presidency of the EU - have infuriated the US with their warnings against war. On the other side, Britain, Spain and Italy are among the chief backers of the United States' tough stance against Saddam Hussein, who has been ordered by the United Nations to disarm.
Those three nations saw some of the largest anti-war protests during a global day of action on Saturday. More than one million people marched in each of London, Barcelona and Rome, calling on their leaders not to back an invasion.
'Last resort'
The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, tried to highlight areas of agreement in comments before the start of the crisis meeting.
"Everybody recognises war is the last resort," he said.
"I think everybody agrees war may be necessary at a given moment, but we are not at this point.
"We have to exhaust all the elements of diplomacy and all the elements of keeping [UN weapons] inspectors working."
A second UN Security Council resolution, explicitly authorising the use of force, may still be formally tabled.
In the meantime, weapons inspectors are carrying on their task of verifying Iraq's claims that it has no weapons of mass destruction.
While the US and UK argue that Iraq should not be allowed to use inspectors merely as a delaying tactic, France and Germany say their work is not yet done.
Arriving at the summit, UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw repeated his government's view that "time is running out for Iraq".
United Nations input
BBC Europe correspondent Tim Franks says no-one believes that, at the end of the summit, any leader will have shifted his stance on Iraq.
But he says that, at some point, countries will have to decide whether and how they can salvage the broken dream of a common European foreign policy.
The BBC's William Horsley adds that the heads of government are likely to agree that the UN has a central role.
As such, he says, the attendance at the summit of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will be a key factor.
France shut out
The talks follow the approval by Nato's 18-member defence planning committee of the US proposal for assisting Turkey.
The plan - scaled back during talks - now involves the provision of Patriot anti-missile batteries, Awacs surveillance planes and biological and chemical protection units.
Germany and Belgium dropped their objections. France, which is not represented on the committee, did not take part in the discussions. The French pulled out of Nato's military structures in 1966, and participate only in political consultations.
"Alliance solidarity has prevailed," Lord Robertson, Nato's secretary general, said. "We have been able collectively to overcome the impasse."
Lord Robertson stressed that the Nato assistance to Turkey would be purely defensive.
The US ambassador to Nato, Nicholas Burns, hailing the accord, said he expected the alliance to agree over the next couple of days to begin implementing the deal.
The US is also hoping that Ankara will allow at least one army division to be stationed there in the run-up to possible military action.
Turkish public opinion is overwhelmingly opposed to any war with Iraq. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2770175.stm
