Blair and Bush holding key summit

Blair and Annan presented a united front after their talks

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is meeting President George W Bush for talks due to focus on the future of Iraq.

On the eve of the talks in Washington, Mr Blair said he wanted a bigger UN role in the handover of power in Iraq.

His comments coincided with indications from senior US officials that they are prepared to accept a plan prepared by UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.

It proposes replacing the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council by a caretaker government after the 30 June handover.

The summit also comes amid growing disquiet about US policy in the Middle East.

At issue are Mr Bush's support for the use of hardline military tactics in Iraq, and his acceptance of Israeli plans to retain West Bank settlements.

The BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says there will be no public falling out, but there could be rifts at the private talks.

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However, our correspondent says there is one issue on which the prime minister and the president are genuinely agreed - the need for a new United Nations Security Council resolution on the transfer of power in Iraq.

The country has seen an upsurge in violence in recent weeks, much of it directed against the US-led occupation.

Critics argue that the US military's response is only succeeding in causing civilian casualties and uniting Iraqis against the occupying forces.

Many foreigners have been targeted in a series of abductions by Iraqi insurgents in the past two weeks.

In the latest such incident, a Danish man appears to have been kidnapped during a highway robbery near Baghdad.

Former UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook told the BBC that Mr Blair would be a "false friend" if he "doesn't fairly bluntly put it to President Bush that he is pursuing policies in Iraq that are going to get us into increasing difficulty there".

He stressed that Mr Blair had "put a lot of his political capital on the line to support that relationship", adding: "President Bush owes it to him to listen today."

'Common aim'

Speaking after talks with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York, Mr Blair said Britain and the US "share the common aim and purpose" of restoring stability to Iraq.

He told reporters it was important that the UN had a greater role in Iraq ahead of the 30 June deadline for the handover of sovereignty.

"At some point in the near future, we need to have a new UN Security Council resolution that will allow us to plan the way forward for the political transition in Iraq," said Mr Blair.

The US has indicated that it is prepared to accept the proposals of the UN envoy to Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi, which envisage the replacement of the US-appointed Governing Council by a new transitional authority that would run Iraq until elections could be held.

Its leaders would be chosen by the United Nations after consultations with the US, the Governing Council and other Iraqis.

'Big change'

There is also concern over Mr Bush's support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from Palestinian land in the Gaza Strip but retain Jewish settlements that have been built in the West Bank in defiance of international law.

Many see it as undermining the internationally-backed roadmap peace plan, which sets out a series of steps that would lead to an independent Palestinian state.

But Mr Blair insisted that the latest developments did not sideline the roadmap.

"Until we manage to get in place the basic elements of security so that we can then start the co-operative, bilateral approach that the roadmap sets out, then inevitably we're going to be looking for other things that can allow us to make some progress," he said.

"I don't think we should ignore the fact that, if it is the case that the Israelis, albeit unilaterally, disengage from a significant part of the West Bank and from Gaza - well that is, you know, quite a big change."

Our correspondent says this could be the last time Mr Blair and Mr Bush meet at the White House, as it is unlikely that the prime minister would visit during the forthcoming presidential election campaign.

He adds that although the meeting is being billed by officials as a routine get-together, it feels like more than that - partly because the situation in Iraq is so difficult and partly because of real differences on the way forward, in Iraq and in the Middle East more generally.