US President George W. Bush rolls out the red carpet this week for French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, eager for their views on Iran's nuclear program and Russia.
In a high-stakes week of diplomacy, which will also see Bush host Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, comes as Washington seeks more sanctions against Tehran and worries about the health of democratic reforms in Moscow.
Bush will host his French counterpart at the White House tomorrow for an official dinner, then squire him on Wednesday to the Mount Vernon estate of the first US president, George Washington.
The two leaders were expected to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of the Marquis de Lafayette, the French soldier and diplomat who played a key role in the American Revolution.
Merkel was to get an even juicier diplomatic plum, arriving on Friday for a weekend stay at Bush's beloved "Prairie Chapel" ranch in Texas, a prize reserved for especially close allies.
Bush and his guests will have a full diplomatic plate: "Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Middle East Peace Process, Kosovo, Burma, Afghanistan and Darfur, Trade, NATO, transatlantic relations, climate and energy security" are also on the menu, according to White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
But Iran, which has denied US charges that it seeks nuclear weapons bucked international pressure to freeze uranium enrichment, and Russia, including Moscow's relations with Tehran, and its political future, will dominate.
US officials worry that term-limited Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has suggested he may become prime minister after stepping down next year, is backing away from democratic reforms.
Bush, who spoke to Putin by telephone two weeks ago, "wants to hear from both Sarkozy and Merkel about their recent meetings with Putin, and how they think things are developing with our Russian friends," Johndroe said.
The US president, who recently imposed new US sanctions on Iran, wants the UN Security Council to approve a third round of its own punitive measures and needs France -- a permanent council member -- and Germany, which has taken a large role in discussions with Tehran, to be on board.
US officials say Bush hopes that Russia, angry at Washington over plans to deploy a missile defense system in its Eastern European backyard, will not oppose the move.
The meetings also highlight the evolving relationship between the Bush administration and France and Germany, which fiercely opposed the March 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, but have since changed leaders.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS