Ms. Ashton said she envisioned an "ambitious timetable" of next steps that would be discussed when the group meets in Geneva next month.
By an endgame, Iran means that it wants a timetable of specific steps that Iran would take to make its nuclear activities more transparent, which would ultimately lead to the West accepting that Iran has an independent civilian nuclear energy program, and the lifting of sanctions.
Mr. Bush, who is under pressure from Britain and others to get more involved in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, gave what aides said was his clearest statement of support for the seven-page timetable of reciprocal steps, known as a "road map".
Their paper breaks a taboo but is vague, with no timetable or sequence of steps.
Gen. Scott Gration, met with Sudanese officials in the north and south, laying out a timetable for steps the United States is willing to take, starting with the approval of the sale of irrigation and other agricultural equipment to Sudan.
On Monday, Iran and the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency released a plan laying out a step-by-step timetable of cooperation with the goal of resolving by December issues that have been under investigation for four years.
The road map, which outlines a step-by-step timetable of actions intended to create a Palestinian state, represents a departure in many ways from previous positions of Mr. Bush and his aides, and a significant departure from the approach of the Clinton administration.
Along with Mexico and Canada, the Obama administration has proposed a rapid series of steps to reduce HFC production, with rich countries meeting a faster timetable than developing nations and helping to pay the poorer countries to find substitutes.
Make a timetable of your day using the timeframes you already worked out and step-by-step begin eliminating items from your schedule.
