Schroeder won't 'kiss, make up'

2003-04-16 14:36

Berlin - Unlike French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has no plans to phone President George W Bush in a bid to mend relations with Washington, government spokesperson said on Wednesday.

"He has no intention at the present time of doing so," said deputy spokesperson Hans-Hermann Langguth in Berlin.

The spokesperson pointed out that Schroeder would meet Bush at the Group of Eight economic summit in the French city of Evian in June.

In a conciliatory gesture, Chirac phoned Bush on Tuesday for the first time since February 7 when a difference of opinion over the Iraqi war soured relations between the United States and France and Germany.

Schroeder, however, has not met face-to-face with Bush since the November 21-22 Nato summit in Prague where the two men shook hands briefly without smiling. They have not spoken to each other on the phone since last November 8 when Schroeder congratulated Bush on the Republican Party's gains in the mid-term election.

Schroeder's split with Bush dates to an announcement during last September's German general election campaign that Germany would not support a US-led war against Iraq.

Bush pointedly did not phone to congratulate Schroeder on his victory in the September 22 general election. - Sapa-DPA

- SAPA