US President George W Bush's attempts to win Russia's support for possible military action against Iraq appear so far to have made little headway. After a meeting at the White House, Russia's foreign and defence ministers gave no indication that Mr Bush had persuaded them to change their minds and back a new United Nations Security Council resolution on Iraq. Mr Bush is pressing for an urgent resolution setting a deadline for Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to meet UN demands or face military force. His spokesman, Ari Fleischer, said Mr Bush gave the two Russian ministers "straight, direct, from-the-heart talk about the risks that Russia faces and the rest of the world faces" from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's "relentless quest for weapons of mass destruction". But while Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said both Russia and the United States were "interested in the inspectors' work being effective and providing a clear answer to the question of whether there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or not", he did not mention a potential new resolution. Correspondents say Mr Bush had two incentives to offer the Russians at Friday's meeting: a role in nation-building following conflict in Iraq, and help in Russia's struggle with Georgia-based rebels. Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov indicated that some progress had been made on Georgia. "I believe the US shares our concerns (about Georgia)," he said, saying his delegation had explained and "provided proof" of Georgia's support for rebel forces battling the Russian military in neighbouring Chechnya. "Everything is already clear... a very real threat emanates from Georgia," he said. The US has so far opposed Moscow's threat of military intervention in the Pankisi Gorge, where the Kremlin says Georgian authorities are allowing Chechen rebels to live unchecked. (BBC)