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Bush normally reserves invitations to his
Texas ranch for close allies [AFP] |
Iran's nuclear ambitions were expected to dominate talks between the German chancellor and the US president at his ranch in Texas.
Angela Merkel's visit to George Bush's Crawford home on Friday is the second by a European leader this week.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, was at the ranch for talks on Wednesday.
The US, France and Britain have been pushing for a third round of UN sanctions if Tehran does not stop uranium enrichment.
"Strategically, we see eye-to-eye. Tactically, there are some slight differences," Gordon Johndroe, White House national security council spokesman, said before the meeting.
Earlier this week, Merkel said Germany would support a new round of tougher UN sanctions against Iran but she has repeatedly stressed the need for a diplomatic solution.
Diplomatic track
Dana Perino, White House spokeswoman, said that the two leaders would discuss Iran "and the need for our countries to work together on the diplomatic track to get Iran to halt its uranium reprocessing and enrichment".
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"America says Iran getting a nuclear weapon could cause WW3 but I think it's more likely that America would cause WW3 by invading Iran"
Jack, Bangor, UK
Send us your views | Johndroe said the talks on Iran were to be "part of ongoing discussions".
US and German officials have said they do not expect any major announcements from the summit.
Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US are expected to meet later this month to discuss reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran's compliance with international demands.
Iran has refused to agree to UN demands to halt nuclear work that could have both civilian and military uses.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has said the nuclear programme is irreversible and that Tehran has 3,000 centrifuges in its underground Natanz plant.
Close ally
John Glenn of the German Marshall Fund, a US public policy and grantmaking institution, told Al Jazeera that one of the main purposes of the visit was to thank Merkel for being a good friend to the US.
"She has brought them [the US and Germany] together after a period of rancour, and most recently she managed the diplomacy of getting the renewal of the German mission in Afghanistan," he said.
Bush normally reserves invitations to his ranch for close allies and the invitation is a striking contrast to the frosty relationship Bush had with Merkel's predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, who vocally opposed the Iraq war.
"In Texas, when you invite somebody to your home, it's an expression of warmth and respect and that's how I feel about Chancellor Merkel," Bush said before welcoming Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer at the property's helipad.
The two leaders were also expected to discuss Afghanistan, the Middle East, Iraq, climate change, Myanmar, and the Doha trade round.
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Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
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