U.S. President George W. Bush met on Wednesday Nigerian President Olesegun Obasanjo, having appreciated Nigeria's quick capture of Liberian war crimes suspect Charles Taylor.

"The fact that Charles Taylor will be brought to justice in a court of law will help Liberia and is a sign of your deep desire for there to be peace in your neighborhood," Bush said at a White House meeting with Obasanjo.

In his remarks, Obasanjo denied that his government had been " negligent" in handling war crimes suspect Charles Taylor.

"I do not agree that ... we have been negligent," Obasanjo said, adding those who spread such ideas "are wrong and owe an apology," the president said.

Former Liberian leader Charles Taylor, wanted for war crimes by a UN-backed court in Sierra Leone, reportedly "disappeared" from his residence in Nigeria on Tuesday.

In response, the White House said Nigeria must make sure that Taylor, believed to be the most renowned warlord in Africa, is handed over to an international court.

Taylor has been indicted on 17 counts of war crimes against humanity for his role in war in Sierra Leone.

On his talks with Obasanjo, Bush said that they also talked about situation in Darfur, Sudan, and an international response in helping to end a 21-year civil war in the country.

The United Nations Security Council voted last week to keep UN peacekeeping force in Sudan to monitor an accord ending the civil war and authorized planning for the expected extension of the UN force's operations to Darfur.

News reports said nearly 300,000 people have been killed and over two million others displaced during the three-year-long civil war in the Darfur region.

"I made it very clear to him (Obasanjo) that we are deeply concerned about the humiliation, the rape, the murder that is taking place against the citizens of Darfur and he agreed," Bush said.

Source: Xinhua