August 12, 2007
Bush Hosts Sarkozy for Lunch
- New Era of Relations?
Washington
US President George W Bush met French President Nicolas Sarkozy for
lunch at the Bush family's Oceanside private estate, eager to
underscore a thaw in relations between Washington and Paris.
Bush made plain that smoothing divisions over the Iraq war was one
aim of the meeting Saturday, the third between the two presidents
since Sarkozy took office in May.
"We've had disagreement on Iraq in particular. I've never allowed
disagreements to not to find other ways to work together," Bush told
reporters at his parents' summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Sarkozy's visit was billed as a casual get-together over hot dogs
and hamburgers - and the French leader fit the bill, turning up in
jeans and an open-necked shirt.
Bush's parents, former president George H W Bush and former first
lady Barbara Bush, were on hand to greet Sarkozy.
He called Sarkozy a "friend" and promised a "heart-to-heart talk".
"He's bringing a good brain, good vision and goodwill," Bush said.
"This is a complicated world with a lot of opportunities to bring
peace, and no question, when America and France work together we can
get a lot of important things done."
A conservative who has pledged close ties with the US, Sarkozy is
spending his first summer holiday as president at an upscale resort
in the state of New Hampshire, which borders Maine.
He invoked the shared history of their two countries, recalling both
the Marquis de Lafayette, a French officer who fought with the
colonials in the US War for Independence, and the "cemeteries with
small white crosses on the French coast ... young Americans who came
to die for us".
"And that is a lot more important than Mr Sarkozy or Mr Bush,
because after Mr Bush, after Mr Sarkozy, we'll continue to be
friends of the Americans," Sarkozy said.
Sarkozy's approach toward the US marks a contrast with his
predecessor Jacques Chirac, who feuded with Bush and helped lead
international opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Days before Saturday's meeting, the White House said that the US and
France appear to be "on the verge of a new era of relations".
Sarkozy's holiday in lakeside Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, has made
headlines in France, including reports that he tussled with two news
photographers during a boat trip last weekend on Lake Winnipesaukee,
climbing into their boat to tell them off.
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