US President George W. Bush has accepted the resignation of John Bolton, US ambassador to the United Nations, the White House said on Monday.

Bush reluctantly accepted Bolton's decision to leave the post when his recess appointment ended in early January, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. 

Bush appointed Bolton to the UN job temporarily in August 2005 as his nomination languished in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, blocked by the Democrats and several Republicans. However, the appointment expires when Congress formally adjourns, no later than early January.

The CNN news network said that Bolton submitted his resignation letter to Bush on Friday after realizing that his nomination would face harsher prospects in the Congress following Democrat victories in the midterm legislative elections.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Monday that US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton had done the job as expected.

Annan made the evaluation after the White House announcement of Bolton's resignation earlier Monday.

"He came at a time when we had lots of tough issues," the UN chief told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York. "As a representative of the US government he pressed ahead with the instructions that he had been given, and tried to work as effectively as he could with the other ambassadors."

Bolton's brusque style has aroused wide dispute either inside or outside the UN building. Actually, he is believed having quite strained relations with many of his colleagues in the United Nations, including Annan.

"I think it is difficult to blame one individual ambassador for difficulties on some of these issues, whether it is reform or some other issues," Annan said, with obvious reference to Bolton who pushed strongly for the UN reform.

However, the secretary-general stressed that it is important that the ambassadors work together, that the ambassadors understand that to get concessions, they have to make concessions, and they need to work with each other for the organization to move ahead.

(Xinhua News Agency December 5, 2006)