Bush to Leave G-8 Early for Peace Meeting
Wed May 28, 1:10 PM ET
URL: story.news.yahoo.com
WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) will cut short his meeting at the Group of Eight summit of major industrialized democracies in France to head to the Middle East for talks with Arab, Palestinian and Israeli leaders, the White House said Wednesday.
AP Photo
Although Bush will spend only one, not two nights at the G-8 summit, the White House said Bush would meet on the sidelines with the host, French President Jacques Chirac — their first encounter since relations between them frayed over the U.S.-led war in Iraq (news - web sites).
The early departure from the French Alpine town of Evian means Bush will miss perhaps a dinner and some of the final G-8 ceremonies on Tuesday, but will be there for all "the main events," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) said.
The French president said he understood why Bush had to leave before the end of the G-8 meetings.
"President Bush is compelled in order to respect his obligations to leave Evian in the afternoon of Monday," Chirac's spokeswoman Catherine Colonna said. "We spoke about this with the White House and indicated that we understood completely."
It will be the first face-to-face meeting between Bush and Chirac since November, although they have spoken by phone in recent weeks, with Chirac attempting to patch-up the rift with Bush over the war that ousted Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). Chirac led European opposition to the war. Bush has not hidden his anger, saying last month that he's unlikely to invite Chirac to his beloved Texas ranch "any time soon."
The G-8 meeting opens Sunday in Evian and closes Tuesday. Aside from the United States and France, the G-8 groups together Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.
The president will depart the G-8 meeting and travel to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for a June 3 meeting with Arab leaders.
From Egypt, he will travel to Aqaba, Jordan, for a June 4 meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan and for meetings, conditions permitting, with Israeli Prime Minister Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Abbas.
On June 5, the president will go to CENTCOM to visit with members of the coalition armed forces in Doha, Qatar. |
