Washington: As part of his telephone diplomacy to seek support of nations ahead of a
possible United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote on Iraq, US President George W
Bush spoke to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and discussed the issue.
Bush spoke to Musharraf on March 12 morning "to discuss, among other things, Iraq,"
White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said, without revealing details of the
discussion with the President of the non-permanent UNSC member country.
"The President is going on the last mile for diplomacy. We shall see if the other
nations on the Security Council are willing to entertain the last mile," Fleisher
said.
According to Fleischer, in many of the phone calls, "Bush said if nations are not
with US, he would be disappointed".
In the third successive day of his telephone diplomacy, Bush also spoke to Russian
President Vladimir Putin, Spanish Premier Jose Maria Aznar, Lithuanian President
Rolandas Paksas, United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Zayed bin Sultan and
Philippines President Gloria Arroyo, besides Britain's Tony Blair.
President Bush appreciated the efforts Britain was making, Fleischer added.
During talks with UAE's Sheikh Zayed, Bush thanked him for "his strong support"
and "noted his courage in raising at the recent Arab League summit the topic of
Saddam Hussein stepping down and leaving Iraq".
"The President and the Sheikh agreed that action should be taken for the benefit of
peace and to help the people of Iraq," he added.
Gloria Arroyo and Bush "agreed to continue to consult closely on how the United
States can support Philippines further in the war against terror", he said.
PTI
