US President Bush met French President Sarkozy for lunch at the Bush family's Oceanside private estate, eager to underscore a thaw in relations between the two countries.
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 on 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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