UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday stressed the importance of persuading as many Iraqis as possible to participate in the general elections scheduled for January.

"We have tried to encourage the Iraqi interim government to be as inclusive as possible, and bring into the tent people who are outside, because they also need to have a political process and dialogue to be able to reconcile the society," Annan said in an interview with Chinese reporters on the eve of his trip to China.

"There are limits to what you can do with force alone," he said.

The UN chief, however, refrained from giving a judgment on whether the elections could be held on schedule, saying "the decision as to when the elections should be held belongs to the Iraqis."

"When (Interim) Prime Minister Iyad Allawi was here, we discussed the issue and he told me that they are determined to go ahead with the elections in January next year," he said.

Last month, Annan expressed doubts that the elections could be held on schedule, but Allawi voiced disagreement with him.

On how UN member states responded to the call of the UN to contribute troops to protect UN facilities and personnel in Iraq, Annan said, "We had some indication of interest, but I cannot say we have moved ahead with the establishment of the brigade."

A Security Council resolution passed in June decided that a separate brigade should be established to protect UN facilities and personnel in Iraq.

On the reform of the United Nations, Annan said the high-level panel he appointed last year to deal with the issue, would look at in broad sense the threats that were facing the world today, not just weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.

"They will look at the issue of poverty, the question of HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and environmental degradation, and the impact they have on the stability in our world today, and come out up with some suggestions as how we, as the international community,can deal with these issues."

"It will also tackle the issue of intervention. When is intervention legitimate? Under what circumstances? Who decides? And how can the Security Council be organized to be able to act effectively and timely?" he said.

Annan said it was incorrect to assume that the panel was focusing only on Security Council reform.