Methyl 2,5-dideoxy-5-iodo-3-O-pivaloyl-~-erythro-pentofuranoside (5) was synthesized from 2-deoxy-~-ribose and treated with triethyl phosphite to give the phosphonate 6. Reaction of 6 with silylated 2,4-dihydroxypyrimidine 7 in the presence of trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate as catalyst afforded nucleoside phosphonates 8 and 9 which were deprotected with C2H,0Na in ethanol to give the diethyl 2',5'-dideoxyuridine-5'-phosphonate 10 and its a-anomer 11. No activity was found for the nucleosides 8-11 against HIV or HSV-1. hitherto have been prepared from the corresponding natural nucleoside, one can assume that other nucleoside derivatives can be similarly prepared. However, there is a need for a more convenient route, especially, for nucleoside 5'-phosphonates with unnatural nucleobases. It would be of interest to avoid the synthesis of the nucleoside prior to the synthesis of the phosphonate. In this paper we describe the coupling of an adequately substituted 2,5-dideoxy sugar 5-phosphonate with silylated uracil as an example of a convergent synthesis of such compounds.