"The sharp fissure that has now been created across the Atlantic because of the Iraq war I think raises both a threat and an opportunity," Bergsten told a seminar here.
A pronounced division in views could spill over into the economy through stalled trade agreements or even an outbreak of a US-Europe trade war.
But the industrialized powers also had an opportunity to leverage the need for economic cooperation to try to help patch up the political and security relationship, Bergsten said.
US President George W. Bush would probably attend the summit, he said, making it possibly the first face-to-face meeting of the conflicting heads of state after the war.
"At a minimum, they might have to show that they are friendly and getting together and talking to each other. If they don't even do that, markets will take a big nosedive," he said.
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