U.S. President George Bush met with Israel's defense minister, Ehud Barak, in Washington Thursday, at roughly the same time that PM Ehud Olmert met with Russian leader Putin.

Bush joined Barak's meeting with National Security Advisor Steve Hadley, and the three spoke for about an hour.

Earlier in Barak's visit, he met U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who supports a military strike against Iran. Sources in Barak's entourage say his visit to Washington was "good and thorough" and that the atmosphere was "excellent."