United States President George W Bush telephoned Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Monday evening and exchanged views on the situation in Iraq.

The call came after he sought international backing for a fresh US-sponsored United Nations resolution on multinational troops deployment in Iraq.

During the five-minute conversation, Bush and Vajpayee also discussed developments in the preparation for WTO Cancun Ministerial meeting, official sources said.

They said the two leaders agreed that India and US delegations at Cancun would remain in touch with each other on this matter.

Bush's telephone call to Vajpayee came a day before US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca arrives in Delhi for talks with Indian officials, which is expected to cover the Iraq issue.