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Bush: Northern Alliance should stay out of Kabul

Bush tells U.N. 'every nation has stake in cause'

Bush addresses the U.N. on Saturday.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- President Bush said Saturday that he did not want opposition Northern Alliance forces, who have been making progress against Taliban troops in Afghanistan, to seize the Afghan capital of Kabul.

"Any power arrangement must be shared with the different tribes within Afghanistan, and a key signal to that will be how the city of Kabul is treated," Bush said during a news conference following talks with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. The two leaders were in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly.

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"We will encourage our friends to head south over the Shomali Plains but not into the city of Kabul itself," Bush said.

Atrocities committed in Kabul when "various ethnic groups" held the city after the Soviets left in the 1980s illustrate that the city needs a more balanced power structure, Musharraf said.

"I think if the Northern Alliance enters Kabul we will see the same kind of atrocities perpetuated against the populace there, and it needs to be avoided," Musharraf said.

Bush praised Musharraf for his country's support in the war against terrorism, and announced the United States has lifted sanctions against Pakistan and promised $1 billion in support to the nation.

Bush addresses United Nations

Earlier Saturday, Bush met with the leaders of Uganda, Madagascar, Kenya, Mongolia and Croatia, trying to build support for his coalition in the war against terror.

The president also met with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and South Korean Foreign Minister Han Song-su, president of the U.N. General Assembly.

Bush did not meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, claiming the Palestinian leader has not done enough to fight terrorism in the Middle East.

Bush expressed the need for more information sharing to track terrorists' movements and discussed ways the U.S. can help in international efforts against terrorism, his advisers said.

"We need to share information," said a senior administration official who did not want to be identified. "These networks are global."

Croatian President Stjepan Mesic told Bush he was tightening his country's borders and cracking down on some financial networks linked to terrorists, a senior administration official said.

There was one unexpected moment during the meetings when Mongolian Prime Minister Nambar Enkhbayar showed Bush how his country is trying to stamp out terrorism.

Enkhbayar presented Bush with a postage stamp his country created to commemorate the September 11 terrorist attacks. The stamp shows the Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center and the American flag. It bears the words "Let's Unite Against Terror," said Sean McCormack, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

Sunday, Bush is to participate in a Veteran's Day breakfast, meet with the presidents of South Africa, Colombia and Argentina, and attend an observance at the World Trade Center to mark the two-month anniversary of the attacks.