PARIS, Feb 8 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday flew into France, a hotbed of opposition to the war in Iraq, and said it was time to end past disagreements and open "a new chapter" in the transatlantic alliance.
"America stands ready to work with Europe on our common agenda, and Europe must stand ready to work with America," she said in remarks prepared for delivery to France's prestigious National Foundation for Political Sciences.
"It is time to turn away from the disagreements of the past," she said. "It is time to open a new chapter in our relationship, and a new chapter in our alliance."
On the sixth leg of an eight-nation of Europe, she said America had everything to gain from a stronger Europe as a partner in building a safer and a better world.
"So let each of us bring to the table ideas, experience, and resources, and let us discuss and decide -- together -- how best to employ them for democratic changes," she said in excerpts of the speech released by the State Department.
She added that Americans and Europeans have enjoyed their greatest successes in the past when they refused to accept an unacceptable status quo, "but instead put our values to work for the cause of freedom."
She urged both sides of the transatlantic alliance to work for "development, transparency and democracy," saying "history will surely judge us not by our old disagreements, but by our new achievements."
02/08/2005 13:51 GMT - AFP