US President George W Bush declined Thursday to support scandal-hit World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, hinting that the White House is bowing to pressure for him to resign, according to dpa. World Bank directors met for a third straight day to seek a deal for Wolfowitz's exit after a scathing internal report found he broke bank ethics rules when he promoted his girlfriend to a higher salary in 2005. Wolfowitz has acknowledged mistakes but denies wrongdoing. "I regret that it's come to this," Bush told reporters at the White House. "All I can tell you is I know that Paul Wolfowitz has an interest in what's best for the bank." Bush did not repeat earlier expressions of full confidence in Wolfowitz, a former US deputy defence secretary and architect of the Iraq war whom Bush nominated to head the 185-nation aid agency. "I admire his heart and I particularly admire his focus on helping the poor," Bush said. "So I applaud his vision. I respect him a lot." World Bank directors and the United States - which has a seat on the board - are working on a deal for Wolfowitz to leave without forcing an acrimonious vote on the board, a bank official said Wednesday. It would include an admission by the World Bank that its bureaucracy shares blame for the ethics scandal that engulfed Wolfowitz, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Wolfowitz, who says he acted in good faith, apparently wants a stronger statement clearing his name than his foes on the board have offered. "He is not going to resign under a cloud, plain and simple," Bloomberg News quoted Wolfowitz's lawyer Robert Bennett as saying Wednesday. A key planner of the US-led war in Iraq, Wolfowitz has been a polarizing figure at the bank since Bush nominated him in 2005. A quick resignation might make it easier for the US to lay continued claim to the World Bank's top job. The Bush administration shifted ground this week and opened the way to Wolfowitz's possible departure, proposing a broad review of his leadership in which "all options are on the table." But with leading European governments highly critical of Wolfowitz and apparently intent on a quick end to the crisis, any plan that would let him stay on for an undetermined period looked to be a tough sell to the World Bank's board. The Wall Street Journal, which has staunchly backed Wolfowitz, has called the drive to oust him a "European coup attempt" by rich-nation politicians and bureaucrats upset by Wolfowitz's focus on "results" in development aid and on fighting corruption. The US is the bank's largest shareholder. Still, it holds only 16.4 per cent, leaving it increasingly isolated as support for Wolfowitz has ebbed among the bank's managers, staff and member governments. The White House admitted Wednesday that the tug-of-war buffeting the World Bank for nearly two months is a "bruising episode" that requires "a way forward to maintain the integrity of the institution." At issue is a hefty pay raise for romantic companion Shaha Riza that Wolfowitz, 63, directed three months after becoming bank president in June 2005. Riza, a World Bank communications adviser, was loaned out to the US State Department to avoid a potential conflict of interest but was kept on the bank payroll. An investigating panel of seven World Bank directors found Monday that Wolfowitz broke ethics and staff rules, was guilty of a conflict of interest and had hurt the bank's reputation. It also acknowledged that bank officials gave Wolfowitz unclear advice on the matter. The bank's staff association says the raise was nearly twice as high as allowed under bank rules and weeks ago called for Wolfowitz to resign. Wolfowitz says he was following suggestions by the bank's ethics committee and has accused foes of mounting a smear campaign to force him out.
