(BRUSSELS) - US President George W. Bush on Friday congratulated Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on his recent election victory, a sign of a thaw after four years of cool ties over Iraq.

The US leader "congratulated me this morning," Zapatero said at a press conference after an EU summit in Brussels.

In their telephone conversation the two men agreed to meet up at the NATO summit in Bucharest on April 2-4, where they will discuss "matters of mutual interest and international events," he added.

Zapatero's Socialists won 169 seats in Sunday's general election -- seven short of an absolute majority in the 350-seat parliament.

He described Bush's gesture as "positive" considering "where we were".

Relations between Zapatero and Bush have been distant since the Spanish leader came to power in 2004. His first move was to pull Spanish troops out of the US-led war in Iraq.

Zapatero, said Bush's tone was friendly during their conversation, adding that he had already received a congratulatory message from the White House on Thursday.

Bush spoke of his wish "to continue cooperating closely with Spain".

The pair have met only in formal multilateral forums, the last of which was in September 2007 at the United Nations in New York, where cameras eagerly filmed a short exchange.

Bush's relationship with Zapatero has contrasted sharply with that of his conservative predecessor Jose Maria Aznar, a faithful US ally who sent some 1,300 troops to fight in Iraq.

Zapatero's 2004 election came three days after Islamist attacks in Madrid left 191 people dead.

Bush and Zapatero's personal rapprochement will be short-lived as the NATO meeting could well be their last chance to meet before the US presidential elections in November.

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