Bush set for week of mending fences

Two anti-G-8 protesters, wearing masks depicting US President George W. Bush, left, and French President Jacques Chirac, join hands when taking part in a march in Lausanne, Switzerland on Thursday. The G-8 summit is being held just across the border in Evian, France. PHOTO: AP

US George W. Bush was to leave for Europe and the Middle East yesterday where he hopes to reaffirm trans-Atlantic ties after the bitter Iraq war debate and advance peace prospects for Israelis and Palestinians.

Bush start his week-long trip in Poland, a stalwart supporter of the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. Warsaw has offered troops to help stabilize and rebuild Iraq.

He will then attend ceremonies in St. Petersburg, Russia, marking the city's 300th anniversary, attend a G8 summit in Evian, France, engage in Middle East diplomacy in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, and Aqaba, Jordan, and visit US troops in Doha, Qatar.

At the G8, Bush will encounter his main Iraq war opponents: French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He will meet privately with Chirac and Putin, but not with Schroeder.

In an interview with foreign journalists on Thursday, Bush said he knew reporters would want to portray the summit as a "confrontational meeting" but insisted that would not be the case.

"Absolutely not," Bush said. "It's an opportunity to talk with some who agreed with us on Iraq, and some who didn't, about how we move forward."

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the G8, which Bush will leave early to fly to Egypt on his first personal foray into Middle East peacemaking, was about making progress rather than looking back in anger.

"I think that the time has moved beyond us where there was recriminations or disagreements about previous issues," he said.

But Bush made clear his continued annoyance at Chirac for leading the opposition to a UN Security Council resolution that would have authorized military force against Iraq and given Bush more political cover.

"There is a sense of frustration and disappointment among the American people toward the French decision. That's realistic. People didn't understand the decisions by the French leadership to thwart the American desire and the desire of others to work on security and freedom," Bush said.

Perhaps to forestall European criticism that the US has failed to uncover Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, Bush cited suspected mobile biological weapons labs as substantial proof and said recently uncovered mass graves showed Saddam's brutality.

Bush nothing about Schroeder, who irked Bush by campaigning for re-election against US policy in Iraq, but he had glowing words for Putin, suggesting US ties with Russia were back on track.

At the G8, Bush will try to persuade European leaders to increase funding for fighting AIDS, famine and poverty in Africa at a time when many governments in Europe are struggling with weak economies.

He will also ask for continued support in the war on terrorism, the Middle East peace process, and on stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile technology.

Putting own prestige on the line for an elusive deal on implementing the "road map" for Middle East peace, Bush will skip a summit dinner and the reading of the final communique.

Fleischer "all signals are a go" for a three-way summit among Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in Aqaba, Jordan, on Wednesday. Bush is to meet Arab leaders, including Abbas, the day before.