French President Jacques Chirac and US President George Bush failed to bridge their differences over US plans for postwar Iraq during a meeting held here Tuesday.

The two leaders met for 45 minutes on the sidelines of the 58th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Chirac told a press conference after the meeting that his country and the United States shared the common goal of securing peace and rebuilding Iraq but added "we also have differences."

"We believe, and this is what I told President Bush, that today, the situation in Iraq is such that it is very difficult for Iraqis in general to accept a situation that, one way or another, is an occupation," he said.

Chirac urged a quicker handover of power to Iraqis. "It will take a month, six months, nine months. I can't tell you exactly how long, but we have to take a decision today," he told reporters.

He said Iraqis were frustrated by the situation and that the international community should demonstrate a "clear will through a strong political gesture, in other words, the transfer of sovereignty."

The meeting between Bush and Chirac was held after the two leaders spoke to the General Assembly this morning.

In his speech to the assembly, Bush said outside nations should not try to speed up the handover of power in Iraq. "This process must unfold according to the needs of Iraqis, neither hurried nor delayed by the wishes of other parties," Bush said.

Chirac, in his speech, said the US-led war in Iraq which went without UN backing had put the world body through one of the most severe crises in its history. The US unilateral action had "shaken the multilateral system" and there was no justification for a superpower to act alone, he said.

"No one can act alone in everyone's name, and no one can accept the anarchy of a lawless society. There is no alternative to the United Nations," he said.

At the press conference, Chirac told reporters that France did not in any way want the United States to fail in Iraq. "We very much want the Americans to succeed," he said.

He also said he and Bush agreed on most things. "There is a deep friendship between France and the United States," he said.

Meanwhile, a senior US official said Bush and Chirac talked about their differences, but they pledged to try to work together.

The French president said that he would not "stand in the way" but obviously France would like to try to help, the official told reporters.

(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2003)