President Bush says he wants the United Nations to take over peacekeeping in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region as soon as possible.
Mr. Bush spoke briefly to reporters after meeting with African Union chairman and Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou-Nguesso at the White House Monday.
The president said he and the A.U. chairman share a commitment to ending what he called the genocide in Darfur. He thanked the Congolese president for helping efforts to bring A.U. forces in Darfur under U.N. leadership.
The United States has been pushing Sudan to accept U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur, where African troops have been unable to stop more than three years of bloodshed.
Chaotic fighting between rebels, Sudanese government forces, and Arab Janjaweed militia has killed at least 180,000 people and displaced two million more from their homes.
Mr. Bush and the Congolese president told reporters today that they also discussed the fight against AIDS, and Africa's economic development.
The two men said they would talk again at the Group of Eight economic summit in Russia in July.