WASHINGTON, March 11: US Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke with President Pervez Musharraf on Monday and sought his support for the United States position on the Iraqi issue.

He also discussed the Iraqi situation with President dos Santos of Angola, said a State Department spokesman. Both Pakistan and Angola are members of the UN Security Council.

President George W. Bush spoke to Gen Musharraf as part of the US campaign to explain Washington’s policy on Iraq to world leaders.

“The secretary has been spending a lot of time on the phones keeping in touch with world leaders on the Iraqi issue,” said the State Department spokesman.

Mr Powell also spoke with the foreign ministers of Britain and Spain who have jointly sponsored the second resolution seeking to use military action to disarm Iraq, the spokesman said.