U.S. President George W. Bush has urged international community to support the new Iraqi government being formed after Sunday's voting.

The president spoke by phone Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that Bush and Putin agreed that the elections marked an important step forward for the Iraqi people in building their country.

Bush and Jaap De Hoop Scheffer discussed the possibility of NATO stepping up its training efforts for the Iraqi security forces.

The U.S president also thanked the European Union's pledge of 260 million US dollars in assistance for Iraq.

Source: CRI News