WASHINGTON, Feb 19: President George Bush has said that during his upcoming trip to Belgium, Germany and the Slovak Republic, he hopes to strengthen ties with Europe and bury past differences.
The US president leaves here for Brussels on Sunday for three days of talks with allies. "My first goal is to remind both Americans and Europeans that the transatlantic relationship is very important for our mutual security and for peace, and that we have differences sometimes, but we don't differ on values, that we share this great love and respect for freedom," he said at a news conference on Thursday.
He said both sides have to keep in mind the need to work together to "achieve great objectives". He said those objectives go beyond security matters. "I'm looking forward to discussing issues that not only relate to our security, that not only relate to how we work together to spread freedom, how we continue to embrace the values we believe in, but also how we deal with hunger and disease and environmental concerns."
Some of the US allies have been critical of his policies, mainly on Iraq war. He will confer with NATO officials, and will have extensive consultations with leaders of the European Union.
According to U.S. President's new National Security Adviser, Stephen Hadley, "they will discuss new challenges." "Among these challenges are finding new ways to support the new governments of Iraq and Afghanistan, advancing an Israeli-Palestinian settlement and spreading freedom and democracy to parts of the world that have known too little of both," Hadley said.
From Brussels, President Bush will travel to Mainz City, in Germany for talks with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. His final stop will be Bratislava, Slovakia, where he will confer with Slovak officials and meet separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The trip follows a visit to the region by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, which focused on improving transatlantic relations.
INTERVIEWS: President Bush on Friday gave interviews to a number of media of USSR, Germany, France, Belgium and Slovakia. In an interview with ITAR-TASS, he referred to his personal relationship with President Vladimir Putin, saying "we don't need a fresh start."
"We're friends. And that's important. It's important so that we can - he and I can have good talks, and we can understand each other and understand the decision-making process."
"Vladimir makes a lot of decisions. And I make a lot of decisions. And I like to talk about him about well, why did you do this, or why did you do that? And I suspect he likes to ask me the same questions."
President Bush said America and USSR have "got the framework for a good strategic relationship, which is important." "This relationship can be invigorated." In response to a question on celebration of 60 years of the end of World War II, and that he was invited to come to Moscow, President Bush said: "I'm coming." -AFP
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.