US President George W. Bush and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the reform of the United Nations through telephone on Wednesday, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

"The presidents agreed that we should look at the issue of security council reform within the broader context of UN reform and that the goal of security council reform should be to make the council more effective," McClellan said.

"It is important to build a broad consensus on the way forward, " the spokesman said.

McClellan also reiterated the US position of supporting Japan to be a member of the UN Security Council.

In addition to Japan, Germany, India and Brazil are also seeking permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.

Source: Xinhua