WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Two months before invading Iraq in 2003, US President George W. Bush told British Prime Minister Tony Blair that his concern over the spread of weapons of mass destruction went beyond Iraq and mentioned Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, The New York Times said Friday.

    The details of a Jan. 30, 2003 telephone conversation between the two leaders, released according to notes taken by a Blair adviser, is reported in a US edition of "Lawless World," by Philippe Sands, the newspaper said.

    Bush told Blair that he "wanted to go beyond Iraq in dealing with WMD proliferation, mentioning in particular Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea and Pakistan," the report said.

    Bush's comment would be significant since the president at the time often mentioned in public Iraq, Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as members of an "axis of evil," but never talked about close allies.

    Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are both close allies of the United States and the Bush Administration has been careful to avoid public criticism of them, the New York Times said

    The report said neither the White House nor the British Embassy here would comment on the report. Enditem