Washington, Nov 6, SPA -- President George W. Bush on Monday urged Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to hold elections and give up his army position “as soon as possible.”Bush’s comments came after a White House meeting with visiting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. It was the U.S. president’s first comment on the political crisis in Pakistan since Musharraf imposed a state of emergency on Saturday.“Our hope is that he will restore democracy as quickly as possible,” Bush told reporters, adding that he asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to deliver that message directly to Musharraf by telephone. The U.S. president would not discuss what action he would take if Musharraf ignores his request. “It’s a hypothetical” question, he said. “I certainly hope he does take my advice.”Despite the warning-the United States has provided billions in military and financial aid since 2001-Bush praised Pakistan’s cooperation in the battle against extremism and appeared to acknowledge that there is little concrete action he can take to influence Musharraf’s behavior.“President Musharraf has been a strong fighter against extremists and radicals,” the U.S. president said. “All we can do is continue to work with the president … to make abundantly clear the position of the United States.”Erdogan also took the opportunity to publicly call for Musharraf to change course and hold elections as promised. “It is also our desire to see a return to democracy in the shortest time possible,” he said. “They way out is never through extremism.”Rice telephoned Musharraf from her airplane as she was returning to Washington from the Middle East, and the two spoke for 20 minutes, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. Rice stressed that the United States was deeply disappointed over the weekend move and wanted Musharraf to reverse the decision as well as hold elections as scheduled in January, McCormack said. He would not describe Musharraf’s side of the conversation. The Bush administration is currently reviewing U.S. aid to Pakistan, including a crackdown on the political opposition and independent media. Such assistance has amounted to nearly $10 billion since 2001, not including another $800 million that the administration has requested from Congress for Pakistan in the current budget year.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/497105