French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday called for a strong Europe and for friendship with the United States, in his first major address on foreign policy since taking office."The emergence of a strong Europe as a major player on the international scene can contribute in a decisive way to rebuilding a more efficient, fair and harmonious world order," he told a gathering of French ambassadors in Paris. "I count myself among those who believe that friendship between the United States and France is as important today as it was during the past two centuries."
He added: "To be allied does not mean to be aligned and I feel perfectly free to express our areas of agreements and disagreements, without complacency or taboos."
| And to prove it, he immediately called for a timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq. |
| The speech was to the various French ambassadors. They're all of the usual mindset and he had to give them something. |