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Schroeder to Cut Short Asia Trip to Meet Powell
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will cut short a trip to Asia next week to be back in time for a visit by Secretary of State Colin Powell as Berlin tries to patch up ties hurt by its anti-war stance. Schroeder aims to return early on May 16, when Powell is expected in the German capital, his spokesman Bela Anda told a government news conference on Wednesday. They will be able to meet provided Schroeder returns punctually. A foreign ministry spokesman said planning for Powell's visit was still in the early stages and talks with Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer are the only appointment fixed so far. Powell is visiting Germany during a trip to the Middle East, Russia and Bulgaria. He will be the most senior U.S. official to visit Germany since relations soured over Berlin's vocal opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Schroeder is expected to meet President Bush for the first time in months at the end of May at a summit in Russia and again at a G8 summit in France in early June.That G8 summit should be a blast - hope we have some evidence of Iraqi-French perfidy held back for the day before the summit starts Schroeder leaves on Saturday for Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam and had originally been due to return on May 17. The size of his delegation has been reduced because of the outbreak of the SARS virus in the region. Posted by: Frank G 2003-05-07 |
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