Bush says Chirac might make a good cowboy

French President Jacques Chirac (L) speaks with US President George W. Bush before their dinner in Brussels. Picture / Reuters

BRUSSELS - US President George W Bush called the French leader by his first name Jacques and joked about inviting the Iraq war opponent to his Texas ranch, saying, "I'm looking for a good cowboy".

Bush's self-described working dinner with President Jacques Chirac, like the rest of Bush's European tour, aimed to showcase Bush's new willingness to reach out to long-time European critics, including Chirac, who led opposition to the war.

A public exchange of pleasantries before dinner was meant to show relations had come a long way since the darker days before the Iraq invasion, when the US Congress renamed French fries Freedom Fries and Air Force One served Freedom Toast rather than French toast.

"This is my first dinner, since I've been re-elected, on European soil, and it's with Jacques Chirac -- and that ought to say something," Bush said with Chirac at his side.

"It ought to say how important this relationship is for me personally and how important this relationship is for my country," Bush told reporters.

Few relationships were as badly frayed by the Iraq war as theirs.

In an April 2003 interview, Bush said there were some strains in ties between Washington and Paris because it "appeared to some in our administration and our country that the French position was anti-American. "

Bush said in the interview that Chirac should not expect an invitation to his Texas ranch any time soon.

However, before their working dinner of lobster risotto and filet of beef in bordelaise sauce, both leaders made the case that all was well now.

Bush declared, "I've really been looking forward to this moment. "

"Every time I meet with Jacques he's got good advice. And I'm looking forward to listening to you," Bush told the French president. "We've got a lot of issues to talk about -- Middle Eastern peace, Lebanon, Iran, helping to feed the hungry."

Bush was asked by a French reporter if relations were now good enough for Bush to invite Chirac to his Crawford, Texas, ranch, an honour bestowed by Bush on his closest allies.

"I'm looking for a good cowboy," Bush responded.

He did not elaborate.

In what may be a tentative first step to an eventual ranch visit, Chirac plans to go to the White House in coming weeks, officials said.

For his part, Chirac insisted that relations with Bush have always been "very warm," and he touted shared priorities from securing Afghanistan and Haiti to responding to December's devastating tsunami in Asia and fighting terrorism.

"Of course, that doesn't mean that because we share common values we necessarily agree on everything all the time," he said.

Despite their public display of bonhomie, tensions remain -- from how to deal with Iran's nuclear programme to whether the EU should serve as a counter-balance to US dominance.

"Of course, we can have our differences," Chirac said. "Recently this was the case; we didn't share the same view over Iraq. But this in no way affects or in no way undermines the bedrock of our relations."

- REUTERS