NEW YORK (AP) - Facing resistance from allies, President Bush slowed his search yesterday for a United Nations resolution to encourage other countries to pledge money and peacekeeping troops for Iraq's reconstruction. The administration said it could take months to work out an agreement.

With U.S. casualties rising and pressure building to bring American soldiers home from Iraq, the uncertain diplomatic timetable could cause the Pentagon to call up more National Guard or Reserve forces.

On a second day of diplomacy after addressing the United Nations, Bush received presidents and prime ministers in his 35th floor suite of the Waldorf-Astoria on Manhattan's tony east side.

Bush did not solicit any contributions for money or soldiers when he met with the leaders of India and Pakistan, two countries that the administration is counting on to set up a third division of 10,000 to 15,000 multinational peacekeeping forces, officials said.

And German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, after talks with Bush, said he did not feel "under time pressure" about a resolution.

Secretary of State Colin Powell met, meanwhile, with the foreign ministers of 10 countries that are on the U.N. Security Council. Diplomatic sources said later that a U.S. resolution would be introduced next week.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the resolution would be cast more in "psychological and political" terms rather than requesting a specific number of peacekeeping troops.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, in an Associated Press interview, said he wants to see a Muslim force assembled for Iraq that has the blessings of the United Nations or an international Islamic organization.

He said he was talking with leaders of other Islamic countries.

At one point the administration had hoped to find consensus on a U.N. resolution before Bush addressed the General Assembly on Tuesday. But with little sign of progress, Bush acknowledged last week that a quick resolution was doubtful.

A senior administration official acknowledged it could take months to get a resolution and the process would not be rushed.

The sticking point is how quickly to transfer power from the U.S.-led occupation administration to an Iraqi civilian authority. The administration says it must be done in an orderly fashion and is unwilling to specify how long that might take. France and Germany say the transfer must occur swiftly.

Portraying France as a possible exception, the senior administration official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said other nations are willing to discuss language that might bridge the gaps for a resolution.

The United States and Germany tried to play down differences.

After more than a year of icy relations, Bush and Schroeder shared a hearty handshake and agreed to patch up differences from the Iraq war.

The reconciliation was played out before television cameras as the two leaders beamed, reached from their armchairs to shake hands and spoke warmly about U.S.-German relations. It was a contrast to Bush's meeting a day earlier with French President Jacques Chirac where reporters were not allowed and a U.S. official indicated there was no narrowing of differences on Iraq.

With Schroeder at his side, Bush said, "The first thing I told him, I said, 'Look, we've had differences and they're over and we're going to work together.' And I believe when Germany and America work together we can accomplish a lot of positive things."

Without retreating from his anti-war stand, Schroeder said, "We very much feel that the differences that have been, have been left behind and put aside by now." He said a stable and democratic Iraq was in Europe's interest, and that Germany could help the postwar effort by training Iraqi police and security forces.

Still, there was no indication Germany would contribute peacekeeping troops, as it has to Afghanistan, or that Schroeder would retract his support for France's call for a quick end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

Last year Schroeder ran a re-election campaign that played up his opposition to U.S. policy on Iraq. He warned an attack would set the Middle East aflame and mean certain death for thousands of innocents. Tensions between Berlin and Washington worsened when Germany joined France and Russia in blocking a U.N. resolution seeking authorization for the war. Bush and Schroeder had talked at a NATO meeting last November and again at an economic summit in the spring but the diplomatic feud was not considered over until yesterday's meeting.

Chirac, Schroeder and Russian President Vladimir Putin had their own joint meeting at the Waldorf-Astoria.