The United States and Britain pressed NATO allies Wednesday to step up their contributions in the Libyan air war as the alliance seeks to finally topple Moamer Kadhafi and plan Libya's future.

After three months of air strikes, defence ministers meeting in Brussels said time was working against Kadhafi and urged the defiant colonel to listen to international demands to step down.

With only eight out of 28 NATO members conducting air strikes, NATO's chief as well as the US and British defence ministers prodded allies that have taken secondary roles to help ease the burden on air crews showing signs of fatigue.

"I made the point that too many are doing too little," British Defence Secretary Liam Fox told reporters after the talks. "Let's hope that they mull over that this evening and we get further responses in the next few days."

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates named three countries that should consider striking -- Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands -- and two countries that are not participating at all -- Germany and Poland -- to consider joining the campaign, said officials familiar with the discussions.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the mission needed broader participation to ensure the "sustainability" of the operation, which NATO extended by 90 days through late September.

"All ministers agreed we will keep up the pressure for as long as it takes to bring this to an early conclusion," Rasmussen said.

French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet downplayed expectations of a quick end to the war, warning that Kadhafi's "irrationality" makes the outcome unpredictable.

Highlighting the regime's resilience despite daily air strikes on Tripoli, between 2,000 and 3,000 Kadhafi troops launched an assault on the rebel-held western city of Misrata.

France and Britain are conducting the bulk of the air strikes, while the United States is providing three-quarters of the refuelling planes and up to 80 percent of the surveillance flights, a senior US official said.

"Crews are getting tired. The stress on the airplanes is significant. And you find that already in key allies as they consider how they can continue to extend their operations," the official said.

No country responded to Gates's request "but no one closed the door," the US official said.

The ministers issued a joint statement pledging to provide "the necessary means and maximum operational flexibility within our mandate to sustain these efforts and welcome additional contributions to our common efforts."

Spanish and Dutch fighter jets are policing a no-fly zone but are not striking ground targets, while Turkey, which reluctantly backed the Libyan operation, has deployed warships to enforce an arms embargo off Libya's coast.

Spanish Defence Minister Carme Chacon indicated that Madrid would not expand its role.

Her German counterpart Thomas de Maizere said his country, which refused to take part in any aspect of the mission, would not change its stance although he added that Berlin stood ready to help in any post-conflict resolution.

"We are not militarily engaged, it will stay like this," he said.

Sweden, a non-NATO nation taking part in the operation, decided to cut the number of fighter jets enforcing a no-fly zone from eight to five, although it lifted restrictions on the type of surveillance missions they can carry out.

Norway, among the few NATO members conducting air strikes, has said that it would reduce its role if the mission goes past June.

NATO said it stood ready to play a role, if requested and necessary, once Kadhafi steps down but that such an effort should be initiated by the United Nations and the international contact group on Libya.

"The time has come to plan for the day after the conflict," Rasmussen said, adding that it would up to the United Nations to take the lead after Kadhafi falls. He also ruled out NATO ground forces in a post-Kadhafi Libya.

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