Paris: French President Jacques Chirac said in an interview published on October 16 that he knew of no relationship between Iraq and al-Qaida and warned that a war on Baghdad could provoke terrorists to stage new attacks.

Speaking to Lebanon's ‘L'Orient Le Jour' newspaper ahead of a visit to Beirut, Chirac said, "To my knowledge, no proof has been found, or in any case officially made public, of a link between Iraq and al-Qaida.

"Even if some terrorists have found refuge in Iraq, you mustn't mix up issues," he said, adding, "The main aim of the international community concerning Iraq must be disarmament."

Chirac's comment challenged statements from United States President George W Bush, who has tried to give the impression that al-Qaida, which Washington blames for the September 11 attacks, and Iraq are linked.

The US is pushing for the United Nations (UN) Security Council to pass a resolution allowing the immediate use of military action if Iraq refuses to comply with UN weapons inspections.

France, which has veto power on the council, is lobbying for two resolutions; one that would give a deadline for compliance with inspections, then, if that was ignored, another that would spell out the consequences for Baghdad.

Chirac said that an attack on Iraq might also have repercussions for what the US terms a worldwide "war on terror."

"We cannot exclude terrorist groups using the Iraqi matter as a pretext for new actions and as a basis for propaganda," he said.