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| Home Front: Politix |
| Bush, Merkel hold ranch talks on Iran, Afghan |
| 2007-11-10 |
| CRAWFORD, Texas - US President George W. Bush welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to his Texas ranch Friday for two-day talks on issues like Iran and Afghanistan, with barbecue and maybe a hike on the menu. Bush and Merkel — who joined an elite group of world leaders invited to the “Prairie Chapel” property — were expected to showcase diplomatic efforts to confront Tehran over what the West suspects may be a nuclear weapons program. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to be on hand Saturday to discuss the Middle East peace process, as well as efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, Kosovo’s future, pressure on Myanmar, and Lebanon’s political crisis. Ahead of the talks, US officials downplayed fissures between the allies on the US hard line toward Iran and Germany’s restrictions on its troops in Afghanistan but also downplayed the likelihood of any breakthroughs. “Strategically we see eye-to-eye. I think tactically there are some slight differences,” on issues like Iran and Afghanistan, said US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe. Bush will take up the new round of US sanctions on the Islamic republic and tell Merkel “this is part of our diplomatic strategy,” he said. “While, yes, we never take any options off the table, this was the next step in trying to make diplomacy work.” Merkel, who leads Iran’s largest European trading partner, said Germany would embrace “further, tougher sanctions” if ongoing talks fail to convince Iran to heed UN demands to freeze sensitive nuclear work. |
| Posted by:Steve White |