KIEV, Ukraine, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney met with Ukrainian officials Friday to discuss continuing tensions over Russia's military incursion into Georgia.

Cheney met with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who expressed support for European efforts to mediate the conflict, said a pool report from journalists traveling with Cheney.

"I'm sure we'll find a peaceful way to settle that conflict," Yushchenko told Cheney, who in turn praised the United States and Ukraine for having a strong and "very important relationship."

Thursday, Cheney stopped in Georgia to pledge U.S. support for that country and a desire to see Georgia become a member of NATO, in defiance of Russia, The New York Times reported Friday.

Cheney arrived in Georgia one day after the United States pledged $1 billion to help Georgia recover from its defeat by Russian soldiers, who continue to control two breakaway regions and buffer zones in Georgia.

Yushchenko remains steadfast with NATO

KIEV, Ukraine, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko says a collapse of Kiev's pro-Western coalition won't prevent Ukraine from seeking to join NATO and the European Union.

Yushchenko suggested this week's collapse was influenced by Russia and by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko who had talks with "forces abroad," Yushchenko told the Financial Times in an article published Friday.

"This is not a purely Ukrainian product," Yushchenko said of the coalition's disintegration.

Yushchenko said Ukraine had come too far in recent years to stop it from signing a partnership agreement with the European Union next week and continuing to explore membership in NATO.

"This is a political battle for power. It's a test," Yushchenko said of the split. "We will come out stronger. There will be no tanks rolling out."

The coalition split Wednesday after Tymoshenko's camp sided with the pro-Kremlin bloc of ex-premier Victor Yanukovich in a move to curtail Yushchenko's executive powers, the Financial Times reported.

Iraqi VP: Sovereignty for Baghdad a must

BAGHDAD, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi says any security agreement with the United States must guarantee full sovereignty for Baghdad.

"I think that we are not in need of an agreement that does not guarantee sovereignty and brings Iraq out from under Chapter VII, and also guarantees Iraqi law as a whole," Hashimi told reporters Thursday during a tour of the Adhamiya district.

Hashemi said negotiations on the proposed security agreement have stalled on those "important and sensitive issues," reported KUNA, the Kuwait news agency reported Friday.

Other issues yet to be settled include the timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and whether U.S. troops can be prosecuted for crimes under Iraq's judiciary system, KUNA reported.

New book says Bush spied on Iraqi leaders

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- In a new book on U.S. President George Bush's leadership and governing style, Bob Woodward cites extensive administration spying on Iraqi leaders.

The book, "The War Within: A Secret White House History, 2006-2008," due out Monday, pictures the Bush administration as riven by dissension and offers a new reason for the cutback in Iraqi violence.

The book says that the U.S. troop surge of 2007, in which Bush sent nearly 30,000 additional U.S. combat forces and support troops to Iraq, wasn't the main reason for the steep drop in violence.

It was, instead, Woodward writes, new covert techniques that enabled U.S. military and intelligence officials to locate and kill insurgent leaders and key individuals in extremist groups, The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) said. Woodward is an associate editor at the Post.

The book says the administration was either unwilling or slow to confront the deterioration of its strategy in Iraq during the summer and early fall of 2006.

Angola has first election in 16 years

LUANDA , Angola, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Angola, war-ravaged and impoverished but one of Africa's biggest oil producers, had its first parliamentary elections in 16 years Friday.

Analysts predicted a peaceful election, after six years of peace, and victory for the governing party, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, known as the MPLA, which has been in power for 33 years, the Los Angeles Times said.

More than 8 million people, nearly half of the population, are registered to vote.

The first and last time Angola voted, in 1992, the loser, rebel leader Jonas Savimbi, denounced the results and fought on for the next decade. Savimbi's group -- National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, known as UNITA -- is now the opposition.

Angola remains toward the bottom end of the U.N. index that measures living standards and poverty, ranked 162 of 177 countries. It's also rated as one of the most corrupt countries by the government watchdog group Transparency International.

Jordan sends guns, ammo to Palestinians

JERUSALEM, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- With Israel's consent, Jordan has sent about 1,000 automatic rifles and some 10,000 bullets to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved the weaponry after the PA asked for the shipment to be used in Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayad's campaign against Hamas militants, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Defense officials expressed cautious satisfaction with the performance of the Palestinian security forces, Israel Radio reported. But, some Israeli military officials warn the weapons could fall into terrorists' hands.

Fayad's campaign is targeted at money launderers, many of whom help finance Hamas, and against other Hamas militants in the West Bank.