WASHINGTON, June 27: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came away very pleased from her first meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy and members of his cabinet, and predicted “a really excellent relationship” between the United States and France.

Rice met Sarkozy in Paris on Monday ahead of an international conference on Darfur. On her flight home from her two-day visit to France, she told reporters Tuesday that the French leader wanted “the strongest possible relationship with the US.” “We are going to have differences,” she added, but “I think they want to really invigorate US-French cooperation.” She cited France's decision to keep its troops in Afghanistan and step up its training of an Afghan army.

“These were strong signals that they want a very strong relationship, so I think it will be a really excellent relationship,” Rice said. She also met in Paris with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, with whom she spent a great deal of time on Monday during an international conference on Kosovo.

She was also given a “magnificent” reception by French Defence Minister Herve Morin, complete with a rendering of the Marseillaise.—AFP