WASHINGTON, June 6: Differences between the United States and France on Iraq have not gone away, even though the two countries are working together on a new UN resolution for that country, Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday.
"The differences that we had last year are not going away. It was a major disagreement. But we have come together again, in the recognition that the Iraqi people need the help of the international community," Powell told CNN from France, where he is taking part in celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
"So we have been working very closely with the French government. I think we're very close to a final resolution at the UN in New York, to be passed in the next several days."
US President George W. Bush and French President Jacques Chirac on Saturday met in a bid to heal the severe strains in the two countries' ties. It was their first meeting since September.
France has strongly opposed the US-led war in Iraq, which has created bad feelings on both sides of the Atlantic. But Powell stressed that Paris and Washington are still cooperating in many other areas. "Keep in mind, we have French troops in Haiti working alongside us, French troops in the Balkans working alongside of us," he said. -AFP
