European leaders urged the United States today to reconsider a decision to bar Iraq war opponents from reconstruction contracts that has opened a new transatlantic rift and threatens efforts to rebuild trust.
In an apparent effort to calm tempers raised by Washington's decision, US President George W. Bush telephoned the leaders of France, Russia and Germany yesterday to tell them he was sending special envoy Mr James Baker to Europe for talks.
The Pentagon has temporarily delayed the issue of $18.6 billion in US tenders to rebuild Iraq. But Mr Bush stood his ground and showed no sign of forgiving key allies who opposed the war and thwarted his effort to gain United Nations backing to invade Iraq.
The decision left European firms counting the cost and could open new trade disputes. But experts doubted the World Trade Organization would declare the US move illegal and said it was unlikely to kill a deal to reduce Iraq's $120 billion debt.
"Returning to old arguments and divisions doesn't seem particularly constructive," Mr Chris Patten, the European commissioner for external relations, said in Brussels. "We should be seeking to bring people together not divide them."
"We hope the US will reconsider its decision of yesterday," Chief Commission spokesman Mr Reijo Kemppinen said, reiterating that the executive Commission would investigate whether the US move violates World Trade Organization rules.
Russian Foreign Minister Mr Igor Ivanov, visiting the German city of Munich, was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying: "We must not allow steps to be taken today that would lead to a split in the international community with regard to Iraq."
Mr Karsten Voigt, coordinator of US-German relations at the Foreign Ministry in Berlin, said the US move was astonishing and made it hard to explain to parliament why Germany wanted to do more to help rebuild Iraq and possibly train Iraqi policemen.