November 09, 2007	Friday	Shawwal 27, 1428

WASHINGTON, Nov 8: The warm US welcome won by French President Nicolas Sarkozy during his charm offensive here shows tensions over the Iraq war have eased, but differences remain between the two nations, analysts said.

Sarkozy this week vowed to back the US stand on Iran and Afghanistan as he promised to nurture the historic friendship between the two countries.

“We may have differences, we may disagree on things, we may even have arguments, as in many families,” Sarkozy said, addressing the US Congress on Wednesday.

He also has publicly contemplated France’s full-fledged return to Nato, after year on the margins of the Atlantic military alliance.

The French leader said Washington could be assured of French backing on such issues as Afghanistan and Pakistan, and backed a tough US line on Iran’s nuclear program, telling US lawmakers to rousing applause that “the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable to France.” But amid talk of a convergence of French and American views, policy differences remain palpable.

In a rare note of criticism during his brief visit, Sarkozy urged Americans to do more to shore up the dollar and called upon them to take the lead in the fight against global warming.

In his speech before Congress, he called on the United States “to stand alongside Europe in leading the fight against global warming that threatens the destruction of our planet.” Pundits said it is important not to take too much for granted so early in the thaw in ties between Paris and Washington.

“Expecting too much too soon could return the chill to relations,” said Simon Serfaty, a senior adviser to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies’ Europe Program.Charles Kupchman foreign policy expert at Georgetown University, said there was the promise of warm, enduring ties, but that it was too soon to know whether that would be realized.

“The visit has enormous potential but it’s too easy to exaggerate that we have already turned the page,” Kupchman said.

In an interview last month with CBS television, Sarkozy himself conceded that disagreements were still in the cards.

One commentator in The Washington Post noted however that it was possible that the French leader’s affection for America may not reflect the views of his countrymen, writing that “large numbers of Sarkozy’s countrymen regard the American president as the devil incarnate.” Despite his chumminess with Bush, Sarkozy showed that he was willing to hedge his bets and plan for the future, placing a 15-minute phone call during his visit with front-running Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton.

Her spokesman told the Washington Post the New York senator and the French leader had “an informal and friendly chat.” Despite a few remaining sticking points, it remains indisputable that the Sarkozy era has brought with it radically improved relations between France and the United States, after four years of frosty ties under his predecessor Jacques Chirac.—AFP