Chirac seeks to mend ties with Bush in 2005

In an attempt to repair transatlantic ties strained by the war
in Iraq, French President Jacques Chirac has proposed
meeting US President George Bush in the coming weeks.

President Jacques Chirac has signalled his readiness to breathe
fresh life into US-French relations, proposing to US President
George Bush that they work together to turn 2005 into a year of
transatlantic trust and unity. 

The two leaders are now due to meet and hold talks in Washington
in the coming weeks, sometime before or after Bush’s
scheduled 22 February trip to Europe. Bush’s last visit to
Paris was in June 2004, while Chirac has not travelled to
Washington since November 2001. Their meeting is expected to focus
on the situation in the Middle East, Iraq and Iran. During his stay
in Europe, Bush will also hold talks with German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder in Berlin.

The new overture by Chirac comes on the heels of a dispute
between the two countries over the US’s war in Iraq. During his
trip to the US in December 2004, French Foreign Minister Michel
Barnier called for transatlantic ties to be reassessed, and the
EU’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, spoke about a “fresh
start” to EU-US relations following his recent meeting with
incoming US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Ahead of Bush’s
scheduled February trip, Rice also expects to visit allied leaders
in Europe.

In his annual foreign policy speech in Paris on 6 January,
Chirac sent a warm personal greeting to Bush upon his re-election.
“I hope that together, with the international community, we will go
into the new year with unity, trust and determination, and that the
challenges we face will be opportunities to show the vitality of
the transatlantic link,” he said.

According to White House spokesman Scott McClellan, President
Bush “made it very clear at the outset of the post-election period
that he was going to be doing more to reach out to our European
friends and allies so that we can work together to solve common
problems that we face”.

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