Bush visit shows US wants real dialogue with Europe: US ambassador

BERLIN, Feb 18 (AFP) - The visit of President George W. Bush to Europe next week shows that the United States wants to put aside divisions over Iraq and open a new chapter in relations, the US ambassador to Germany said on Friday.
"The fact that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President Bush are coming to Germany so soon after taking office is a very clear signal: we are coming to listen, to talk and to have a dialogue," Daniel Coats said in an interview with Bayerischer Rundfunk public broadcaster.
Bush visits Brussels on Tuesday then goes to Mainz in Germany for a meeting with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday before talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Slovak capital Bratislava on Thursday.
"We want a restored, renewed relationship with Europe and Germany which is injected with new energy, to work together on the global challenges in the Middle East, in Iraq and on the challenges posed by terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," Coats said.
"None of these problems can be solved by one country alone."

02/18/2005 17:13 GMT - AFP