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Sarkozy and Bush meet for talks in Paris
French President Nicolas Sarkozy greeted US President George W. Bush on Saturday for private talks, the latest sign of the warming in US-European relations that Bush has touted all week in his travels abroad.
- AP
- Published: 13:16 June 14, 2008
Paris: French President Nicolas Sarkozy greeted US President George W. Bush on Saturday for private talks, the latest sign of the warming in US-European relations that Bush has touted all week in his travels abroad.
Bush is touring Europe - Slovenia, Germany and Italy came first, and England and Northern Ireland are next - in a farewell tour of ally nations.
Bush's limousine pulled through a narrow iron-gated arched entrance into the gravel Elysee Palace courtyard on Saturday, where a colorfully dressed honour guard, with red-plumed headpieces and bayonet-tipped guns, lined the space and played music.
The two shook hands, smiled and waved at the giant press contingent before disappearing inside.
The French president and his new wife, model-turned-singer Carla Bruni, also hosted Bush and first lady Laura Bush for a dinner on Friday night.
Even before he was elected last year, Sarkozy worked to mend relations with the US that were bruised by former French President Jacques Chirac's clash with Bush, especially over the Iraq war. Sarkozy is so pro-American that the energetic conservative is known in France as "Sarko the American."
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