29 May 2004	Saturday	09 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

WASHINGTON, May 28: US President George Bush on Friday strove to soothe Danish and Russian concerns about Iraq, vowing to give "complete and full sovereignty" to an interim government set to take power there on June 30.

Mr Bush said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed by telephone to work together to refine a new UN Security Council resolution meant to ease the handover of power in Iraq.

In a joint appearance with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who has sent some 500 soldiers to Iraq, Mr Bush made clear that his guest had pushed for giving the interim government full powers.

"I told the prime minister that our government and our coalition will transfer full sovereignty, complete and full sovereignty to an Iraqi government" picked by special UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, the president said.

"He said, 'Do you mean full sovereignty?' I said, 'I mean full sovereignty,'" Mr Bush added as the two leaders made brief remarks in the White House Rose Garden.

The president said the United States was "making progress" on the new UN resolution, amid concerns from China, France, Germany and Russia about how it will define the role of nearly 140,000 US soldiers in Iraq. -AFP