White House to stay out of Wolfowitz row

WASHINGTON: The White House on Tuesday renewed its support for embattled World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, but said it would stay out of any discussions on his future at the institution.   

"The conversations right now are not between the administration and the World Bank, they're between Mr Wolfowitz and the World Bank and I think it's proper to let the process work itself out rather than trying to insinuate ourselves into it," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.   

"We still support president Wolfowitz," he added, but dodged a question as to whether US President George W. Bush was still insisting that Wolfowitz stay at the head of the development lender.   

"These are conversations really that have been conducted at the World Bank. The president is not getting directly, personally involved to my knowledge."   

Wolfowitz is fighting to keep his job after a top-level Bank ethics panel ruled he was guilty of a conflict of interest over a pay raise given to his girlfriend who was also a World Bank employee, US media reported on Tuesday.

According to The New York Times, the panel of seven of the bank's 24 board members has formally notified Wolfowitz, the former US deputy secretary of defense, of its findings, a move that is likely to add to the weeks of pressure on him to resign.