Schroeder, Bush talks focus on Mideast

30 January 2004

BERLIN – German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will have talks with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington next month dominated by the Middle East, a spokesman said Friday.

Schroeder will meet Bush during a two-day visit to the United States on 26 and 27 February which also includes stops in Chicago and Jackson, Mississippi, said the Chancellor’s chief spokesman Bela Anda.

Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Afghanistan will be the major international themes on the agenda for Schroeder and Bush, said Anda.

Ties between Schroeder and Bush were badly strained over the Iraq war which Germany strongly opposed.

German-American relations have, however, thawed since last autumn with Berlin agreeing to train Iraqi police officers and holding out the prospect of stationing a medical evacuation jet in Baghdad.

But Schroeder still insists he will not send combat troops to Iraq.

In Chicago on 26 February, the Chancellor will make a speech to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations focused on the transatlantic alliance and economic ties. He will also visit the headquarters of telecoms company Motorola.

Following a meeting with Bush in Washington on 27 February, Schroeder will travel to Jackson where he will open an exhibition of Baroque art from the eastern German city of Dresden.

DPA
Subject: German news