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LONDON, Nov 18: French President Jacques Chirac agreed to disagree with British Prime Minister Tony Blair over Iraq on Thursday, but pledged full cooperation, from Africa to the Middle East, when Britain heads the G8 and European Union next year.
Since the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, relations between the two European heavyweights have been fractious, sometimes bitter. But diplomats said the pair's performance in London appeared to show genuine commitment to healing the rift.
Addressing a joint news conference, they stressed common ground over African poverty and climate change - Blair's stated priorities when Britain presides over the G8 group of leading nations throughout 2005 and the EU bloc in the second half.
Mr Chirac, visiting London to mark the centenary of "Entente Cordiale" - the end of colonial rivalry between France and Britain - said Paris would "actively support" those priorities and hailed the "manifold areas where we work hand-in-glove".
The pair shared a common analysis over bringing Israelis and Palestinians together following the death of Yasser Arafat.
Mr Blair has pressed US President George Bush to make that a personal priority.
"What matters really is all that we have in common in the present and for the future," Chirac said, adding that Africa and climate change were "two of the most important questions we need to address for the future of the world".
Chirac said toppling Saddam Hussein had made the world no safer: "If you see the way things are developing in the world in terms of security and the expansion of terrorism ... you cannot say credibly the situation has significantly improved."
SWIPE AT US: In a later speech in the City of London, the president took a coded sideswipe at Washington, saying the West could not unilaterally impose its will or values on the world.
"The world needs a strong Europe in a reforged trans-Atlantic partnership," he said. "We must avoid any confusion between democratization and Westernization." People would see that as imperialism and colonialism.
FRESH START? But together on Thursday, both leaders were conciliatory.
"The differences at the time of the conflict were well known but ... both of us want to see a stable and democratic Iraq and will do what we can to ensure that happens," Blair said. He said they were working closely together on Iran, Afghanistan, the Balkans, Africa and global warming.
Officials said the pair had rarely seemed so at ease. Even over Europe, where they have often been at odds over the EU's future direction, there were no public divergences.-Reuters
