Bush, Chirac Make Little Headway on Reconciliation
President Embraces Putin As 'Good Friend' at Summit
washingtonpost.com
washingtonpost.com
By Mike Allen and Keith B. Richburg
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, June 2, 2003; Page A01
EVIAN, France, June 1 -- President Bush and French President Jacques Chirac met today for the first time since splitting bitterly over the war in Iraq, but showed little sign of mending the differences that have chilled relations between the United States and several of its European allies.
On the opening day of an economic summit of the Group of Eight industrial democracies, the leaders smiled for a perfunctory handshake, and Bush gave Chirac a set of three leather-bound books on Native American culture. But when asked whether their relationship could be repaired, neither man answered.
In what many officials here are regarding as a snub, Bush is skipping the G-8 final work session and closing ceremonies to attend a summit in the Middle East. A French official said Bush will be represented by an empty chair at the closing session.
While he is here, Bush is focusing on national security issues, including fighting terrorism and nuclear proliferation, instead of the economic issues that are the stated purpose of the gathering.
Earlier today in St. Petersburg, Bush called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "good friend" and invited him to Camp David in September.
Before the U.S.-led war in Iraq began, Putin had joined Chirac's effort to block U.N. authorization of an attack, and recently referred to the U.S. reconstruction plans as "colonial." But before Putin and Bush headed to this lakefront Alpine city for the G-8 summit, they spent an evening enjoying fireworks and ballet in St. Petersburg as part of the imperial city's 300th anniversary celebrations.
"I think this experience will make our relationship stronger, not weaker," Bush said. "We will show the world that friends can disagree, move beyond disagreement and work in a very constructive way to maintain the peace."
The differing moods of Bush's encounters reflect the new type of alliances that he plans to form, in which the United States takes the lead and welcomes support but does not negotiate for it.
A senior administration official, brushing aside questions about whether personal differences were undermining foreign policy opportunities, said Bush was "focused on a positive agenda with like-minded allies" -- an echo of the "coalition of the willing" that he formed to attack Iraq.
The official told reporters on Air Force One that Bush's relationship with Putin had come a long way. Asked about France, the official replied: "We'll see about the relationship with our other allies and how we come out of this."
At a news conference today, Chirac said he would continue to try to make the world "multipolar," a reference to efforts to avoid dominance by a single superpower, namely the United States.
"I have no doubt whatsoever that the multipolar vision of the world that I've discussed many times is supported by a large majority of countries in the world," said Chirac, adding that he nevertheless "met with President Bush in a very positive manner, looking at possible solutions to the problems we've encountered."
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said in response to Chirac's comments that "allies treat each others as partners, without regard to poles."
Bush is holding bilateral meetings with heads of state throughout his weeklong swing through Europe and the Middle East. He will also attend a summit with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers, Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas.
By contrast, the White House downgraded a Monday session with Chirac, host of the G-8 summit, to a "courtesy call." Chirac's spokeswoman, Catherine Colonna, said she expected the topic of Iraq to come up during the meeting but that Chirac does not need to provide further explanation for his opposition to the war.
"We explained not only our position, but the reasons for our position," she said. "It was a position of principle. We were defending international law."
Bush will leave France on Monday after a working luncheon devoted to fighting terrorism and nuclear proliferation, among other national security subjects.
His exit will come before the leaders turn to the issues Chirac had hoped to make the priority of the summit -- the "soft power" issues of sustainable development, help for Africa, debt, foreign aid, and the fight against world poverty. Bush had said Saturday that fighting famine and AIDS, and promoting trade, were among the key issues on the agenda he envisions for a revived transatlantic alliance.
The senior official on Air Force One dismissed discussion about the length of today's handshake between Bush and Chirac as pointless "Kremlinology." Reminded that in France, the custom is to kiss on both cheeks, the official said to laughter, "In Texas, they don't do that."
Shortly after arriving in Evian this afternoon, Bush met with President Hu Jintao of China, which is not among the G-8 nations but was included as part of the organization's outreach program. The meeting was the third for the men, but the first since Hu took office in March.
A senior administration official told reporters afterward that Bush had invited Hu to Washington "as soon as he can make it," probably late this year or early next year.
The meeting today marked the end of a series of discussions Bush has held with North Korea's neighbors since three-way talks among North Korea, the United States and China in April. "President Bush reiterated his strong desire for a peaceful diplomatic resolution of this issue," the official said.
Until recently, North Korea had wanted talks with the United States alone, a so-called bilateral approach, while the Bush administration had insisted on including other parties.
The official said Hu passed along a request from the North Koreans that the United States find a creative way to bridge the differences over the format of talks.
The official said there "is a little bit of to-and-fro here on this issue." The official added, however, that Bush's position has not changed.
The meeting between Bush and Putin, their first face-to-face encounter since the Iraq war, was marked by polite expressions of friendship from Putin and somewhat more effusive comments from Bush.
Bush equated terrorist attacks against the United States with Russia's war in the breakaway republic of Chechnya against rebels Putin has said are Islamic extremists linked to Osama bin Laden.
"We are going to win the war on terror by cooperation, as well as providing security and hope for innocent people," Bush said. "That's why I support the goals of ending the fighting and suffering in Chechnya and reaching a lasting political settlement in that region."
On Iran, the most contentious issue discussed in their 45-minute meeting, Putin appeared to be more accommodating than he had been in the past to U.S. concerns about possible nuclear proliferation there, saying that "the positions of Russia and the United States on the issue are closer than they seem."
"We need no convincing about the fact that the weapons of mass destruction proliferation should be checked and prevented throughout the world," he said.
But Putin had sharp words about any attempts by the United States to sanction Russian firms that do business with Iran.
The summit, said a senior U.S. diplomat, "clearly represented a turning point and an end to a cool period in our relationship with Russia." Mending fences with France and Germany, he acknowledged, is likely to take "a little longer time."
Correspondent Susan B. Glasser in St. Petersburg contributed to this report.
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