WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- US President George W. Bush met with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the White House this morning, with Iraq high on the agenda of their meeting.

    "The United Nations needs to play a vital role" in Iraq, Bush told reporters after the talks with Annan, who said that the United Nations does have a role to play in Iraq.

    Other than Iraq, Bush said that he and Annan had a really "constructive dialogue" about a lot of issues, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, the Middle East and Africa.

    Bush also said that the United Nations is playing a vital role in the changing world.

    Annan told Bush that he had decided to send a UN team to Iraq to help the transition of power in the country. The US-led occupation forces are scheduled to return the sovereignty to the Iraqis on June 30.

    "I have decided to send in a team, a team that will go in to try and work with the Iraqis in finding the way forward," he said.

    The United Nations pulled out its staff from Iraq last October following two bombings at UN headquarters in Baghdad, killing dozens of UN staff.

    Annan expressed his belief that "the stability of Iraq is in everyone's interest," adding that "everyone agrees that sovereignty should be handed over to Iraq as soon as possible." Enditem