UNITED NATIONS – President Bush is scheduled to begin a set of meetings with world leaders today at the United Nations by holding a session with Prime Minister Sharon. The vote of confidence for the Israeli leader, whom Mr. Bush will meet ahead of another key ally, Prime Minister Blair of Britain, will kick off a host of U.N. activities that include a Security Council vote on new anti-terror measures proposed by Britain.

Prior to speaking with Messrs. Sharon and Blair, Mr. Bush will address 149 heads of state and the members of the 191 United Nations at the opening of a three-day summit billed as the largest gathering of its kind in history. Yesterday, the General Assembly approved a watered-down agenda for the summit, which included a chapter on terrorism that did not mention the word “civilians” as its target, and which stood in sharp contrast to the British council proposal.

After weeks of exhausting debates leading to the Turtle Bay summit, rich and developing countries averted a collapse of the event at the last moment by signing a heavily compromised 35-page document. America was forced to drop its opposition to some issues, resigned to the fact that the document would include only little in terms of U.N. reform.

The document was approved late yesterday by consensus among the 191 members of the assembly, with two countries, Cuba and Venezuela, expressing “reservations” about the process. All sides said that it was not what they wanted, but were at least relieved that they were able to unite behind something.

Compromise was only possible after the outgoing president of the assembly, Ambassador Jean Ping of Gabon, laid down a document that left out certain contentious language and toned down other problematic portions, calling on the assembly to “take it or leave it.” The Venezuelan foreign minister joined his Cuban colleague by protesting the move. “This process is a clear violation of the most basic elements governing democratic process,” he said.

“The good news is that we do have an outcome document,” Secretary-General Annan said afterward. He said, however, that although the agreements covered many of the issues that concerned him, it failed on the questions of nuclear proliferation and disarmament. “Some countries were spoilers,” he said. Despite allegations at the United Nations that America was the biggest spoiler, Mr. Annan later added that Ambassador John Bolton’s contribution was “constructive.”

Mr. Bolton said that the document mostly fell short on reforming the management of the United Nations. “You have an organization that the Volcker committee has demonstrated substantial flaws in that need to be fixed,” he said. “We’ve started on the process, but we had a lot of debate over fixing flaws that the secretary-general himself said needed to be fixed.”

America allowed several important concessions. On Monday, diplomats familiar with the negotiations said that Washington would not allow the use of words such as “colonial” and “occupation.” Both are traditionally used against Israel but in the future might also be directed at America on its presence in Iraq. The first page of the document agreed upon yesterday, under the headline “Values and Principles,” hailed “the right to self-determination of peoples which remain under colonial domination and foreign occupation.”

America also compromised on language regarding the transfer of wealth from rich countries to poor ones, including a mention of a goal for wealthy states to donate 0.7% of their GNP to foreign aid. Although the final language allowed countries to determine for themselves the percentage of wealth that would be donated, past experience shows that the mere mention of the 0.7% goal is seen around the world as an implication of American obligation.

But members of the group of poorer countries, known collectively in international circles as “the South,” were also far from satisfied on the outcome document. When asked which side “won” the most of the points of contention in the document, the richer countries in the northern part of the globe or the poorer ones, Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan, said “the North.”

Mr. Bush and Mr. Annan met for more than an hour yesterday prior to both leaders’ major speeches today at the opening of the three-day summit in which 149 heads of state and governments are expected to speak. The two discussed African peacekeeping and events in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, and Sudan, according to a U.N. spokesman.

“President Bush expressed his support for the United Nations,” a statement from Mr. Annan’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said yesterday. Asked if that included explicit support for Mr. Annan’s continuing term in office, the U.N. chief of staff, Mark Malloch Brown, told The New York Sun later that it was a “congenial and supportive meeting.”

Last week, Senator Coleman, a Republican of Minnesota, told reporters at the United Nations that the Volcker committee’s findings on the oil-for-food scandal strengthened his earlier determination that Mr. Annan should resign before the end of his term in December 2006, to allow for a true U.N. reform.

When asked about the oil-for-food scandal yesterday, Mr. Annan told the Sun, “Your world is so small. You are lucky – I am envious. You live and breathe oil for food. It did not come up in my discussions with President Bush. We have other important things to talk about.”