United Nations ? The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Thursday aimed at attracting more troops and money to help stabilize Iraq and speed its independence — a diplomatic victory for Washington after the bitter dispute over the war.

The resolution’s success hinges on whether it generates additional funds for Iraq’s reconstruction at next week’s donors conference in Madrid, Spain, and whether countries decide to send new forces to Iraq.

In a dramatic shift, France, Germany and Russia — key opponents of the U.S.-led war against Iraq — supported the resolution. But they immediately ruled out any new military or financial help, reflecting ongoing concern about the speed with which Washington would transfer authority to Iraqis.

The resolution gives U.N. authorization to a multinational force under unified command that will be led by the United States and calls for troop contributions as well as “substantial pledges” from the 191 U.N. member states at the Madrid donors conference on Oct. 23-24.

The 15-0 vote was a coup for Secretary of State Colin Powell, who called the outcome “a great achievement” — although he cautioned that the resolution should not be seen as “opening the door to troops.”

Powell led six weeks of intense U.S. lobbying and worked the phones from the early hours Wednesday. When he launched his final diplomatic blitz, U.S. officials were concerned the resolution might get only the minimum nine “yes” votes needed for adoption.

A day earlier, France, Russia and Germany failed to persuade the United States to include in the resolution a timetable for restoring Iraq’s sovereignty. Instead, the draft calls for the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council — in cooperating with the coalition and a U.N. representative — to provide the Security Council by Dec. 15 with a timetable for drafting a new constitution and holding elections.

The resolution makes clear that the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq is temporary and states that “the day when Iraqis govern themselves must come quickly.” It urges the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority now running the country to let Iraqis govern “as soon as practicable.”

The United States also won backing from China and Pakistan, and finally and most surprisingly, from Syria, the only Arab nation on the Security Council and a staunch opponent of the U.S.-led war.

Not wishing to revive the bitter divisions over the war itself, virtually all council members said they wanted council unity on the next steps in Iraq, even if the resolution didn’t meet all their demands.

“The outcome is a clear demonstration of the will of all the members of the Security Council to place the interests of the Iraqi people above all other considerations,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan said after the vote.

Germany, France and Russia announced earlier Thursday that they would vote in favor of the resolution in a bid to bring international solidarity to the reconstruction effort. France made clear there was concern about escalating violence and terrorism — not just in Iraq but in the Middle East as a whole.

“We all see a spiral of violence and terrorism that is increasing in Iraq,” said French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, speaking to reporters at a summit meeting of European leaders in Brussels, Belgium. “It is important to send a message to the Iraqi people … that we all want the best conditions for the reconstruction of the country.”