By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly agreed on Friday to a negotiating group of some 30 nations, including the United States, to try to rescue a mid-September summit meant to revitalise the world body.

The crisis talks begin next week, mainly on seven controversial topics, including war and peace, in a draft document by Assembly President Jean Ping that most members want as a basis for negotiation.

But U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, who has submitted over 500 amendments and deletions to the Ping document, wants all issues open for discussion. Developing nations in the Non-aligned Movement share this wish, but several diplomats said that would prove impractical in the short time remaining.

"I agreed with the Non-aligned Movement today that we should have an intergovernmental negotiation process and that the entire text ought to be open," Bolton told reporters. "We are making progress. We are ready to go."

Italian Ambassador Marcello Spatafora reminded delegates that time was short. "My concern is that we have in front of us one week" to complete negotiations before the September 14-16 summit of 175 leaders, who are to approve the document.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan Kofi Annan had hoped the summit, the largest gathering ever of world leaders, would spell out new approaches to crises in the 21st century.

But months of talks have resulted in sharp divisions on development, human rights, terrorism, poverty, proliferation, disarmament, intervention in case of genocide and U.N. management reform following a spate of scandals.

The new group of 30 ambassadors, including envoys from regional groups, the permanent five members of the Security Council and others would do the main negotiations. But their sessions would be open to all, who could submit suggestions.

"Everyone interested in the negotiations has a right to come and express their views but the essential work will be done in this small group," said Japan's U.N. ambassador, Kenzo Oshima.

India's ambassador, Nirupam Sen, told reporters the priority for the developing world was development itself and here "we actually agree with Pakistan."

Bolton, whose proposals come close to scrapping the Ping document, said the United States was open to a variety of formats or dividing the document into sections for negotiations.

"We are flexible and open on process and format," he said.

Bolton last week raised the anxiety level among negotiators when he proposed deleting large chunks of the draft document.

His marked-up text deleted references to the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, adopted in 2,000, debt relief, climate talks and nuclear disarmament among the big powers.

Several developing countries oppose mandates for a new human rights council, definitions of terrorism that the West wants and the responsibility to intervene in cases of genocide, an effort to correct the legacy of Rwanda.