Schröder, Chirac, Blair to Seek Deal on Iraq

British Prime Minister Tony Blair will travel to Berlin on Saturday for talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and French President Jacques Chirac.

"The meeting will serve to reach common ground on foreign policy after the differing views that arose before the Iraq war," according to the German government.

France and Germany strongly opposed the war on Iraq, while Great Britain stood staunchly on the side of U.S. President Bush and sent troops to Iraq.

In addition, Britain and France, both veto-wielding permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, have opposing views on the U.N.'s future role in Iraq, now under British and U.S. occupation.

A U.N. resolution proposed by the U.S. earlier this month calling for a multinational force under U.S. command will be among those issues on the agenda this weekend.

In addition, the British prime minister is expected to seek support for changes his country has proposed to the draft EU constitutional treaty, due to be discussed at an inter-governmental conference next month.

"Sensible" meeting

According to Blair's spokesman, the summit was suggested by all three leaders, who had come to a "consensus" that a meeting at this time would be "sensible."

It will be a chance for a fairly wide-ranging discussion on economic matters and international affairs," he said. "This will be a chance to discuss not just Iraq but also other issues as well. There have been informal discussions, but it makes sense to continue those discussions now."

Paris has tried to dampen expectations that the talks will result in a new, common European position on Iraq. The Elysée Palace has said that the mini-summit will be about an exchange of opinions on European issues and that compromise on Iraq is not the first order of business.

Hurt feelings

While no one has officially complained, behind the scenes in Italy and Spain there have been expressions of dismay, saying they felt passed over and shut out from the summit. Spanish and Italian commentators have said there were good reasons to invite the leaders of the two countries, José María Aznar and Silvio Berlusconi, since Spain is one of the key European supporters of the U.S. policy in Iraq and Italy currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.

Italian commentators complained that the lack of an invitation showed the eroding importance of Italy within Europe. In Spain, the newspapers said Aznar was being “punished” for his support of the U.S. line.

Aznar has isolated Spain from the partners that it most needs, wrote El Periódico de Catalunya. Spain’s voice has lost its importance, because Madrid submissively followed the demands of the U.S., the paper continued.