Powell prepares to restore relations with Schröder
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COLIN POWELL - US Secretary of State will include a visit to Germany in a European tour including Moscow, Tbilisi and Sofia. (Photo: NATO)
By Lisbeth Kirk
The US Secretary of State Colin Powell is preparing to visit German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in mid-May. Such a visit could mark a change in US-German relations which have cooled considerably since Mr Schröder was re-elected on a ticket opposed to the war on Iraq.
Mr Powell will include the visit to Germany in a European tour that will encompass Moscow, Tbilisi and Sofia, reported the Financial Times Deutschland today.
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The paper also said that, two weeks ago, American president George W. Bush approved the notion of repairing relations with Germany.
The German and American leaders are to meet in June at the G8 summit in Evian, France.
French-American relations remain on ice
The conditions for restoring US-German relations are still unknown, however German engagement in the rebuilding of Iraq is believed to be an essential part.
American-French relations remain on ice. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned the French president Chirac against placing Europe as a rival to the United States, calling such a move "destabilising".
In an interview with the Financial Times, he said: "I don’t want Europe setting itself up in opposition to America. I think it will be dangerous and destabilising."
The French Defence Minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, who was visiting Moscow last week sought to involve Russia in a European defence built-up. The ally of France and Germany in the anti-war front over Iraq "should be associated with the planning work that we are carrying out", she said.
