Minneapolis (Minnesota), Apr 27: US President George W Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed efforts to craft a new UN resolution to cover Iraq's shift to self-rule, the White House said. The two leaders also discussed yesterday the ailing 'road-map' to Middle East peace, as well as the May 4 meeting of the international quartet of sponsors behind that stalled plan, Bush spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.

Bush and Putin also discussed the situation in Georgia as well as their plans to see each other at the commemoration of the June 6, 1944, d-day landings in France, said the spokesman. The United States has been eager to see the UN Security Council adopt a measure to encourage other countries to contribute troops to efforts to pacify Iraq ahead of a June 30 deadline for handing over sovereignty.

"It's in the early stages of discussion," said Bush spokesman Scott McClellan. "But there's been certainly a good bit of interest."

Bureau Report