US President George W. Bush met with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the White House on Thursday and they discussed issues including Iran, the Middle East peace process, Afghanistan, Lebanon and others.

"We talked about Iran. And I thanked Chancellor Merkel's strong support for a Chapter 7 Iranian resolution -- a Chapter 7 United Nations Security Council resolution on Iran," Bush said at a press conference after their meeting.

The UN Security Council passed a resolution in December to impose sanctions on Iran for its defiance over its nuclear programs. Germany has been a key player in negotiating the resolution.

"We're going to continue to work together on the Iranian issue. It's important for us to follow through in order -- on this Chapter 7 resolution in order to solve this issue peacefully," Bush said.

Bush said he also discussed the Israeli-Palestinian issue with Merkel and he agreed with her to convene the quartet, or the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the European Union, at an appropriate time.

The United States is committed to a two-state solution with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace, Bush said.

For her part, Merkel hailed the cooperation between the two sides.

The visit "is clearly an expression of the fact that we share values, that there are a lot of common interests between our two countries, and that there is also a lot of need for enhanced cooperation between the European Union and the United States of America," Merkel said.

Germany has been an important US ally and relations have been greatly improved since Merkel took office in late 2004.

(Xinhua News Agency January 5, 2007)