Peacemaker Bush offers new alliance with Europe 'for freedom'

• Bush makes first visit to Europe of second term, meeting Jacques Chirac.

• Outlines position on Iran, Syria, China and continued "democratic reform"

• Discusses the middle-East conflict and Kyoto.

Key quote

"Iran is different from Iraq. We are in the early stages of diplomacy [with the Iranian government.] The results of this approach now depend entirely on Iran." - GEORGE BUSH

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GEORGE Bush yesterday held out a clutch of olive branches to European leaders, pledged to maintain a transatlantic alliance, dedicated himself to a permanent Middle East peace deal and even gave ground on global warming.

In an overtly conciliatory speech in Brussels, the United States president gave hope to European diplomats that the painful divisions caused by the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq could be laid to rest.

Calling for "a new era of transatlantic unity" at the start of his five-day tour, Mr Bush said: "No temporary debate, no passing disagreement of governments, no power on earth will ever divide us."

Mr Bush held up peace between Israel and the Palestinians as a key common cause for Europe and the US. He urged the new Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to lay out a strategy for Palestinian reform at a London conference next month in order to draw international financial support. "I hope he will seize the moment," Mr Bush said.

He said Israel must freeze Jewish settlement activity and ensure the eventual Palestinian state emerges with contiguous territory on the West Bank. "A state of scattered territories will not work," he said.

On one subject of Iran, Mr Bush was keen to stress that the country would be handled in a different fashion from its neighbour.

"Iran is different from Iraq. We are in the early stages of diplomacy [with the Iranian government]," Mr Bush said. "The results of this approach now depend entirely on Iran."

On the European side, there appeared to be a greater willingness to accept that the possible use of military force was a necessary part of dealing with Iran. "I think the negotiations have a serious chance of succeeding, but only because of the American threat," said Karel de Gucht, the Belgian foreign minister.

"There is only a chance of the talks succeeding if we maintain a strategy of carrot and stick, and we have to be willing to admit that the US is the stick."

Mr Blair, who arrived in Brussels late last night and will have breakfast with the president today, has pointedly refused to rule out force against Iran. His official spokesman yesterday spoke only of "sending a clear signal about the importance of Iran complying" over its nuclear programme.

US officials in Brussels said that rather than tackling Iran head-on about its atomic plans, the president would instead deal with Russia, whose technology has been vital to Iran’s nuclear progress.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, last week promised to maintain his assistance for Iran’s construction of a nuclear plant in the southern province of Bushehr.

Mr Bush, who will meet Mr Putin in Slovakia on Thursday, said he would carry a stark message about the need for Russia to commit itself to western values on a free press and the rule of law.

"The US should place democratic reform at the heart of dialogue with Russia," he said.

The mission of spreading those same democratic values remained the foundation of Mr Bush’s agenda yesterday.

"This strategy’s not an American strategy, or a European strategy, or a western strategy. Spreading liberty for the sake of peace is the cause of all mankind," he said, signalling that the thinking behind his self-proclaimed "war on terror" remains unchanged.

As well as the moral importance of promoting freedom and democracy, the president said, there can be practical benefits. "As we defeat the agents of terror, we’ll also remove the sources of terror. This approach not only reduces the danger to free peoples, it honours the dignity of all peoples, by placing human rights and human freedom at the centre of our agenda."

Surprisingly, it was Peter Mandelson, the European trade commissioner and an ally of Mr Blair, who came closest to marring the show of trans-atlantic unity yesterday.

Mr Mandelson warned the US that "unfounded" concerns about future conflict with China would not stop the EU lifting its ban on selling weapons to Beijing. The Bush administration "would be wrong to pick a fight with Europe over this, which it can’t actually win," Mr Mandelson said, insisting the "anachronistic" embargo would be lifted.

Mr Bush made no attempt to hide the fact that the focus of his international ambitions still lies in the Middle East.

On his most vivid attempt to create a democratic society in the region, the president urged Europeans to increase their support for Iraq, "the world’s newest democracy".

There are signs that even opponents of the war in Iraq are prepared to give ground here. EU leaders will today formally endorse the creation of the union’s first office in Baghdad, part of a programme designed to rebuild the country’s shattered legal system.

But the US president showed he has no intention of confining what he calls "the untamed fire of freedom" to Iraq.

Lebanon and its Syrian occupiers have moved up the White House’s agenda, thanks to the killing last week of the reforming former Lebanese leader, Rafiq Harriri.

Many suspect Syrian involvement, and Mr Bush did little to improve US relations with Damascus, warning: "Syria must end its occupation of Lebanon." Here too, Mr Bush’s muscular style has alarmed some Europeans, but yesterday, there was a suggestion the rugged approach might pay off.

The Syrian president, Bashar Assad, yesterday "gave assurances" to the Arab League that he is willing to carry out an agreement that ended the Lebanese civil war and "go ahead with a Syrian withdrawal", the league said.

In another apparent concession to his European critics, Mr Bush outlined a widely expected proposal on global warming, suggesting that the two sides could co-operate on technology that would curb emissions. The aim, he said, was "economic growth that is environmentally responsible".

The US may remain far from considering ratifying the Kyoto Protcol on greenhouse gases, but the very fact Mr Bush was willing to acknowledge environmental responsibility as a valid aim will cheer some detractors.

Last night, Mr Bush dined with the French president Jacques Chirac, when the two leaders said they were committed to restoring good relations despite their disagreement over the war in Iraq.