CRAWFORD, Texas, Nov 24 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush welcomed Spain's King Juan Carlos to his beloved Texas ranch on Wednesday, offering some warm hospitality to offset a freezing, howling wind.
"Spain is a great country and a good ally," Bush said as he greeted the king and Queen Sofia, who flew to Crawford by helicopter. Bush was accompanied by his wife, Laura, and his father, former president George H.W. Bush.
The president immediately whisked the royal couple off on a tour of his "Prairie Chapel" ranch, which was hardly looking its best having been battered, like much of Texas, by heavy storms for several days.
An invitation to Bush's ranch is considered a personal gesture extended to close allies, and the visit by Juan Carlos comes amid difficulties in US-Spanish ties caused by the war in Iraq.
Relations between Washington and Madrid have gone downhill since Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero no sooner took office in April than he withdrew Spanish soldiers deployed beside US troops in Iraq, fulfilling a campaign pledge.
That decision went down particularly badly with Bush, who had an excellent working relationship with Zapatero's predecessor, conservative Jose Maria Aznar, who lost the March election.
Bush, a few days after his re-election, opened the White House for a personal visit from Aznar, now living in Washington, but ignored Zapatero's phone calls offering congratulations on the November 2 victory.
The king's political powers as head of state are limited to the ceremonial naming of the prime minister, but he remains an admired figure both in Spain and abroad, and his visit is clearly being seen as an opportunity for some fence-mending.
For dinner, the royal couple were offered some traditional turkey on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.
11/24/2004 20:35 GMT - AFP