US President George W. Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy
on Saturday stressed friendship over disagreement at a lunch of
hamburgers and hot dogs at the Bush family estate aimed at
improving relations strained by the Iraq War.
Bush called Sarkozy "a friend" while waiting with his wife,
Laura, and parents to greet the French leader on the driveway of
the family's compound in this Maine resort town.
US President
George W. Bush talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, with
his father former US president George Bush lost in thought at the
Bush family home in Kennebunkport, Maine, on Saturday, August 11,
2007.
"We've got good relations with France, obviously there's been
disagreements," Bush said.
"We have had disagreements, on Iraq in particular. But I've never
allowed disagreements to not find other ways to work together," he
told reporters.
The United States hopes for improved ties with France under
Sarkozy after relations chilled with his predecessor, Jacques
Chirac, who opposed the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
Sarkozy, wearing blue jeans in keeping with the casual nature of
the meeting, also stressed good relations. "Do we agree on
everything? No," he said. "Even within families there are
disagreements, but we are still the same family."
Sarkozy arrived at the Bush "Walker's Point" estate from nearby
New Hampshire, where he is on his first vacation since taking
office in May.
The American holiday, which has drawn criticism in France, was
briefly interrupted when Sarkozy flew home to attend the funeral of
Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger on Friday.
Sarkozy's wife, Cecilia, called first lady Laura Bush on
Saturday morning and said she and her children were not feeling
well and would not attend the lunch. Sarkozy said when he returned
from France he discovered they had sore throats.
"She's a very dynamic woman, we were looking forward to seeing
her as well as the children," Bush said. "We fully understand."
The invitation to the lunch was extended during the Group of
Eight meeting in Germany in June, where Bush fell ill with a
stomach ailment on the day of his bilateral meeting with Sarkozy.
They still met, but in Bush's private quarters.
Only one other foreign leader has been invited by Bush to his
family's Maine seaside compound - Russian President Vladimir Putin
in July to try and soothe escalating tensions over US missile
defense plans in Europe.
The Russian leader was treated to a speedboat tour of the area
before sitting down to a traditional lobster dinner.
The setting for the lunch - which also featured corn-on-the-cob,
baked beans and fresh blueberry pie - was a cluster of dark brown
buildings with tennis courts and a swimming pool on a point jutting
over rocks, with boats and ducks bobbing nearby in the waves.
The French flag flew over the compound.?
Bush, Sarkozy and Bush's father, former President George Bush,
held a private meeting for about 50 minutes before lunch. Bush said
they were to have a "heart-to-heart talk" about key issues,
including Iran.
They took a boat ride before the French president left after a
more than two-hour visit with the Bush family.
Bush usually invites foreign allies to his ranch in Crawford,
Texas, to show a special relationship. The last head of state to
visit the ranch was Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in August
2005.
Bush, who came to Maine to attend the wedding of a family
friend, will continue his vacation at the Texas ranch starting
today.
Asked whether he would consider taking a vacation in France,
Bush replied: "Absolutely. Particularly if he could find a place
for me to ride my mountain bike."
But Bush noted that he enjoyed going to his ranch. "I'm a Texan,
I like my place down there, I like to go down there as much as I
can. It's where I can relax."
(China Daily via agencies August 13, 2007)
