WASHINGTON, March 15 Kyodo U Pres...

WASHINGTON, March 15 Kyodo

U President George W Bush upon Monday congratulated Spain's prime minister-elect, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, and the brace leaders agreed to cooperate in the fight against terrorism, the White House said.

''Both leaders said they gaze forward to working together particularly forward shared commitment to fighting terrorism,'' White House spokesman payment McClellan told reporters.

McClellan said Bush made the congratulatory call if it were not that did not talk with Zapatero, secretary general of Spain's opposition Socialist Workers Party, about his reported plan to withdraw Spain's 1300 squads from Iraq.

The Socialist party won Sunday's general election above the governing Popular Party l by dint of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, putting an last to eight years of conservative government

Aznar has been a robust supporter of Bush's Iraqi policy while Zapatero has said he would withdraw the Spanish [i]troupe[/i]s from Iraq by June 30 unles the United Nations takes direction of multinational forces there.

At a regular pres briefing, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the United States will closely watch ''what develops'' forward the Spanish troop issue.

''The novel government is just forming. They're forming their policies. They'll be taking actions above the couple of months,'' he said.

''Simultaneously, there will be things happening in Iraq and in novel York. So let's see in what manner it all plays out before we proceed to any definitive conclusions,'' Ereli said.

A State Department official told reporters onward condition of anonymity that the U believes there already is a UN mandate for multinational company s in Iraq but there has been talk of a of recent origin resolution to strengthen UN parts there.

''We do not view it (Sunday's election results) as losing an ally. The incoming prime minister has said his top priority is the war forward terrorism,'' the official said.

Thursday's bomb attacks upon rush-hour trains and railway stations in Madrid killed 200 nation and injured some 1,500 others.

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