UK/FRANCE: The British Prime Minister and the French President have renewed their pledge to co-operate in bringing stability and democracy to Iraq and building the future of Europe.
At a joint news conference yesterday in London following two hours of talks to mark the centenary of the Entente Cordiale, Mr Tony Blair and President Jacques Chirac acknowledged the differences between the United Kingdom and France over the Iraq war while insisting they shared more common ground than areas of disagreement.
President Chirac said Iraq was the "one and only" issue of disagreement between the two countries and that this 27th Franco-British summit underscored the fact that it had been held "in a spirit of friendship which nothing, I repeat nothing, can undermine."
Although Mr Chirac did not resile from his view, expressed earlier this week, that the war in Iraq had increased terrorism and made the world a more dangerous place, he was generous about the "special relationship" between the UK and the US.
And in turn he said the United States and Europe had "a vocation to work together." Concern that their disagreement over the war could overshadow the President's two-day visit had increased last weekend when he said Britain had gained nothing in return for its loyalty to the Bush administration.
But when asked yesterday if he felt comfortable with the idea - a recurring feature of Mr Blair's foreign policy speeches - of Britain acting as a bridge between Europe and the US, President Chirac said: "For historical reasons, and for cultural and linguistic reasons, it is obvious that the relationship between the UK and the US has a sort of family nature, an exceptional link.
"It is history that has given us that. Consequently the fact that the UK can be a friendly partner between the EU and US is an advantage to Europe."
Then Mr Chirac added: "The US and Europe have a natural vocation to work together in the face of the major issues in the world of tomorrow."
In his BBC2 television interview on Wednesday Mr Chirac specifically suggested that the invasion of Iraq had contributed to an increase in terrorism.
Asked about this yesterday he replied: "If you observe the way things are developing in the world in terms of security and the expansion of terrorism - not just in the Middle East but throughout the world - if you look at all that, you cannot say, and be credible, that the situation has significantly improved."
However, the President said history would judge "who is right or wrong." And he again agreed when Mr Blair said that, while their differences over the war were well known, "we are now working under UN resolution 1546, both of us want to see a stable and democratic Iraq, and both of us will do what we can to ensure that that happens."
Mr Chirac also went out of his way to express his sympathy with the British people following the murder in Iraq of Ms Margaret Hassan, and "the depth of horror at what she suffered inspires in us."