Bush meets Iraq critics in Europe, calls for unity

Bush met Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt ahead of a keynote speech in which Bush will appeal to Europeans to replace disagreements over Iraq with joint action to spread democracy across the Middle East.

"Great to be back," Bush told Verhofstadt, adding that he wished he could have gone cycling with the Belgian leader, a keen amateur cyclist.

"He's a great biker. I need a little training," Bush said.

Along with European Union heavyweights France and Germany, Belgium blocked Nato military support for Turkey in the run-up to the 2003 US-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, plunging the alliance into its most serious post-Cold War crisis.

In an address (scheduled for 1300 GMT) meant to set the tone for his Europe visit this week, Bush will offer a conciliatory message, saying: "America supports a strong Europe because we need a strong partner in the hard work of advancing freedom in the world," according to excerpts released by the White House.

But he is unlikely to move much toward the Europeans on the substance of two key contentious issues -- an EU diplomatic initiative to offer Iran incentives to curtail its nuclear program and EU plans to lift an arms embargo on China.

And he may cause discomfort by demanding his European hosts support pressuring Syria following the assassination last week of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, which Lebanese opposition figures have blamed on Damascus.

After four years of tension over Iraq, the Middle East, climate change and the world criminal court, Bush will tell European leaders: "As past debates fade, and great duties become clear, let us begin a new era of transatlantic unity."

EU foreign ministers were putting final touches on Monday to a program of assistance for Iraq, including plans to train police and judges and to offer political support in drafting a new constitution.

At a time of promise between Palestinians and Israelis, Bush will say, "Our immediate goal is peace in the Middle East," arguing that creation of a Palestinian state "can add to the momentum of reform throughout the broader Middle East."

Despite his public appeal for unity, policy differences remain ahead of summits with Nato and the EU on Tuesday over how hard to push Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions, whether to impose new penalties to prod Syria to pull its troops out of Lebanon and to deny support for the Hizbollah guerrilla group.

Washington is also worried about EU wishes to lift an arms embargo to China, but is seeking to play down differences in hope of casting the relationship in a cooperative light.

"Our strong friendship is essential to peace and prosperity across the globe -- and no temporary debate, no passing disagreement of governments, no power on earth will ever divide us," Bush will say.

But two European Parliament Socialist leaders, Martin Schulz and Jan Marinus Wiersma, bluntly told Bush on Monday that he should come to terms with Europe's "soft power," contrasting the EU approach to Turkey with US policy in Iraq.

"Europe's years of patient negotiation with Turkey have resulted in impressive democratic reforms and the opening of the path to EU membership," they said in a statement.