US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will leave for the Middle East on Sunday for talks aimed at reducing fighting between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.
The United States has said it hopes the trip will lay the foundation for a long-lasting solution to the conflict.
Earlier, the White House announced President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair will next week hold their second face-to-face talks this month.
The two leaders have been strong allies on the Iraq war and many other foreign policy challenges, but Mr Bush has yet to sign on to Mr Blair's call for deploying an international security and monitoring presence along the border of Lebanon and Israel.
In a private conversation picked up by an open microphone during a Group of Eight summit in St Petersburg, Russia, on Monday, Mr Blair said the force was essential to stopping violence between Israel and Hizbullah guerrillas.
"I think the thing that is really difficult is you can't stop this unless you get this international presence agreed," Mr Blair told Mr Bush.
Mr Bush's position is that he wants to hear the report of a UN mission to the region on whether such a force would be worthwhile. He has declined to endorse calls for a ceasefire from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and others.
Mr Bush insists Israel has a right to defend itself, and he blames Syria and Iran for supporting Hizbullah.