September 25, 2003	Thursday	Rajab 27, 1424

NEW YORK, Sept 24: US President George Bush and Iraq war opponent German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday put their bitter 16-month rift in the past and pledged to work together to rebuild that battle-scarred nation.

“The first thing I told him, I said, ‘’Look, we’ve had differences. And they’re over.’ And we’re going to work together,” Mr Bush told reporters after the leaders met face-to-face on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly here.

Mr Schroeder — who angered Mr Bush with the tenor of his re-election bid last year and by siding with France this year to block explicit UN approval of the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein — agreed that relations were mended.

“We very much feel that the differences there have been have been left behind and put aside by now. We have both agreed that we want to look into the future together,” he said through an interpreter.

Mr Bush did not appear to make much headway in his primary mission at the massive diplomatic gathering here: an uphill battle to enlist more international troops and money to stabilize and rebuild Iraq.

But Mr Schroeder expressed optimism about eventual passage of a US-backed UN resolution aimed at doing just that. France has said the measure must set a timetable for the transfer to self-rule in Iraq.—AFP