BRATISLAVA, Feb 25: US President George Bush said on Thursday he and European leaders were "on the same page" when it came to keeping Iran from developing nuclear weapons and he would consider their suggestions for economic incentives.

This could mark a change of course for his administration, which accuses Tehran of aiming to build such weapons and which, instead of incentives for Iran, has been pushing to bring the dispute to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.

"The most effective way to achieve that goal is to have our partners - Great Britain and France and Germany - represent not only the EU, not only NATO, but the United States," he said after talks with Slovak leaders in Bratislava, rebuffing suggestions Washington join directly in the nuclear talks.

Wrapping up a fence-mending trip to Europe and eager to stress transatlantic cooperation after bitter differences over the Iraq invasion, Mr Bush said that for the first time he would consider European proposals to offer incentives to Iran in return for scrapping some atomic work.

"I was listening very carefully to the different ideas on negotiating strategies," Mr Bush told reporters about his talks this week with European leaders about Iran. "I'm going to go back and think about the suggestions I've heard and the ways forward."

These inducements could include providing an Airbus plane and the prospect of further aircraft deliveries if the talks were successfully concluded. Another possible inducement would be talks on Iran joining the World Trade Organization.

European diplomats privately acknowledge that talks with Iran are unlikely to succeed unless Washington throws its full weight behind them, since many of the possible incentives for Iran would need US backing.

BREATHER: In its drive to stop Iran gaining any ability to make nuclear weapons, the United States is ready to give European allies only until June to cajole Tehran before Washington seeks UN sanctions, US diplomatic documents show.

American officials in Vienna circulated a position paper for discussion to members of the UN nuclear watchdog's governing board on Thursday, as President George Bush concluded a tour of Europe in which he repeatedly praised European Union efforts to persuade Tehran to give up on enriching uranium.

Washington will not push the International Atomic Energy Agency to refer Iran's case to the Security Council when it meets next week and no condemnations are expected, diplomats on the 35-nation board said. -Reuters