Iraq and Sudan's Darfur region are set to dominate talks between Prime Minister Gordon Brown and US President George Bush at Camp David.

Mr Brown arrived at the US presidential retreat in Maryland on Sunday, and held his first session of talks with Mr Bush over dinner.

While aiming at preserving the "special relationship" with the US, Mr Brown wants to avoid any association with the label of "Bush's poodle" given to his predecessor Tony Blair which contributed to his decision to step down early.

On Sunday, speculation resurfaced that Mr Brown's chief foreign policy adviser had sounded out US foreign policy experts on the possibility of an early British withdrawal from Iraq.

Aides quickly dispelled the talk, saying instead that Mr Brown will focus on the Darfur conflict, which has already cost more than 200,000 lives and forced hundreds of thousands to flee the region, as well as tackling global trade liberalisation deadlock.

Mr Brown's measures for Darfur - which have received the backing of French President Nicolas Sarkozy - include a UN Security Council resolution for an African Union-UN peacekeeping force, an immediate ceasefire, restarting a peace process and an economic aid package.

En route to the US, Mr Brown told reporters: "I want to do more to strengthen even further our relationship with the US. It is our shared ideals that for two centuries have linked the destinies of our two countries together."

Foreign Secretary David Miliband and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are joining the two leaders and other officials for the talks.

Mr Brown will later travel to Capitol Hill for cross-party talks with Senate and Congressional leaders and on Tuesday will hold talks with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon.