Copenhagen: Key Asian and European leaders on September 24 warned the United States against a unilateral assault on Iraq, at the end of a three-day summit clouded by the threat of war.

The Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM), was aimed at boosting trade and political ties between the two regions, but was overshadowed by regional issues including Iraq and North Korea, which highlighted the regions' differences with the US.

Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji warned of "severe consequences" if military action was launched against Iraq without a UN mandate.

"We request that Iraq comply with UN resolutions without any preconditions and accept the UN weapons inspections," he said, when asked about concern over unilateral US military action against Iraq.

"We also ask that Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity be respected. Without authority or mandate from the United Nations or without firm evidence any actions will lead to severe consequences," he told reporters.

The ASEM summit, a biennial gathering of leaders of the 15-member European Union with 10 Asian leaders, was dominated in general by the issue of the fight against terrorism since September 11 2001.

The 25 leaders notably adopted a joint declaration on international terrorism, and agreed to hold an ASEM meeting on it in China in 2003.

In theory Iraq was not on the agenda of the talks, but the current crisis forced the issue into the behind-closed-doors talks hosted by the Danish Presidency of the EU.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said sanctions must be lifted now that President Saddam Hussein has agreed to readmit UN weapons inspectors.

"Britain and America should listen to the rest of the world," Mahathir told a news conference at the ASEM summit in the Danish capital Copenhagen.

"If the rest of the world cannot agree (with an attack on Iraq), there must be a reason for it. They don't disagree merely because they want to be difficult. So let us act multilaterally," said the veteran leader.

The Europeans also stressed the importance of the UN over Iraq.

"We emphasise the importance of sustaining the momentum of international co-operation against terrorism and the leading role of the United Nations," said the anti-terrorism declaration.

In a declaration, the leaders did not mince their words about their desire for Washington to resume dialogue with the reclusive Stalinist state, which President George W Bush has dubbed part of an "axis of evil".

"They hoped that the prospects for the resumption of dialogue between the United States and (North Korea) would continue to improve," said a joint Declaration on the Korean problem.

Despite the political clouds, the assembled leaders did get their heads together on trade.

The leaders "reiterated their firm intention to revitalize their economies after the transitory shock of September 11", they said, according to a final declaration.