The five permanent members of the UN Security Council met privately Tuesday to discuss a draft resolution on resuming UN weapons inspections in Iraq, but failed to reach a consensus.
Russian diplomats said no agreement was reached at the meeting, held in an office belonging to the US mission, close to the Security Council chamber.
"We have had good discussions and we are going to continue," the deputy US ambassador to the United Nations, James Cunningham, told reporters as he emerged from the talks, which last more than an hour.
Mr Cunningham declined to answer when asked when the talks might resume.
In Washington, US President George W Bush said the council must adopt "a very strong resolution" to force Iraq to comply with demands that it dismantle its weapons of mass destruction.
It was important "that we don't fall into the same trap we have done for the last 11 years, which is nothing happens," Bush said.
But France and Russia have rejected the idea that the council should decide on the automatic use of military might if Iraq fails to comply.
Senior British and US officials visited Paris and Moscow at the weekend to rally support for their proposals. These include giving Iraq seven days to accept the new resolution and another 23 days to fully disclose its weapons of mass destruction or face military action.
The British ambassador, Jeremy Greenstock, said the ambassadors had held "a useful discussion" but did not elaborate.
Ambassadors Yingfan Wang of China, Jean-David Levitte of France, and Sergei Lavrov of Russia did not speak to reporters as they left.
"Finding a language could take a bit longer," one diplomat said, on condition of anonymity.
AFP