Addressing at a regular briefing, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush met with Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg at the White House to discuss "the efforts of the United Nations to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction."

"The president made clear his determination to disarm Iraq. The president also said he looked forward to Bulgaria's membership in NATO and welcomed Bulgaria's support and friendship," Fleischer said.

Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Bush, Saxe-Coburg said that "every effort" must be made to disarm Iraq peacefully through UN Security Council.

"We are trying to do our very best from inside the Security Council and I think that most people believe that, again, the issue is to be settled precisely with the assistance of the United Nations," said Saxe-Coburg.

"I certainly feel that every effort has to be used for a peaceful settlement," he added.

Bulgaria, a rotating member of the UN Security Council, is believed to be supportive of the draft resolution introduced to the Security Council on Monday by the United States, Britain and Spain. The draft declares that Iraq has failed to comply with UN demands for disarmament.

According to Fleischer, Bush also called Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Slovak Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda separately Tuesday to discuss the Iraq issue.

Fleischer said Bush congratulated Simitis on his country's leadership as European Union (EU) president, including the work the European Union has done on the issue of Iraq.

Describing conversations between Bush and Dzurinda as "friendly," Fleischer said the two leaders agreed on the importance of disarming Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2003)