US President George W. Bush said Friday that he hopes to sign a deal with Russia at a late-May summit to slash both powers' nuclear stockpiles, but added: "There's some work that remains to be done."

Earlier, emerging from an Oval Office meeting with Bush, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told reporters "there is a very high probability" of such an agreement at the May 23-26 summit in Moscow and

St Petersburg.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell, after meeting separately with Ivanov, said "there are still outstanding issues" to be resolved before Bush signs an accord when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"But I think I can say that we're both encouraged by the progress that we made today," Powell told reporters. "I think it's going to be a very, very successful summit.”