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Tension before Blair-Chirac summit
LE TOUQUET, France -- Iraq is set to dominate talks between the UK's Prime Minister Tony Blair and his French host Jacques Chirac at Le Touquet in the countdown to a possible war in the Gulf state. Other issues on the agenda include joint European defence initiatives and immigration, but it is the thorny issue of Iraq and the sometimes tense relations between France and the UK over how to approach it that will hog Tuesday's annual summit. Blair, who has tried to rally European support to the use of force against Iraq, has updated a so far reluctant Chirac on the British leader's discussions with U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House on Friday. Also clouding the talks will be previous tensions between the French and British leaders over a series of issues which have already led to the delay of the Anglo-French Summit in the northern French town. (Full Story) The two have come to verbal blows over the EU's Common Agricultural policy, with Chirac calling Blair "very rude." On Iraq, Chirac is opposed to swift military intervention, and France knows it has an important international role as a veto-wielding permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. The French president has also fallen out with Britain over whether the EU should continue sanctions against Zimbabwe's rulers -- defiantly inviting President Robert Mugabe to Paris on February 19, the day after existing sanctions are due to lapse. Blair is taking a raft of ministers with him, including two key Iraq players -- Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon. Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Michael Boyce will also attend the talks. The summit comes against the backdrop of tensions between Britain and France over a possible U.S.-led attack on Iraq, with Blair being seen as the European leader trying the most to rally support for the Bush hard line. Blair would like to persuade Chirac to consider backing a second U.N. resolution authorising a military strike. The French leader has made clear he does not believe an attack on Iraq is acceptable without a second resolution. In the House of Commons on Monday, Blair reported back to MPs on his talks at the White House. The British PM warned Iraqi President Saddam Hussein that the "final phase" of a 12-year struggle to disarm Iraq was now being entered. Blair accused the Iraqis of setting up a "huge infrastructure of deception and concealment" over its weapons holdings. He told the Commons there was still time for Iraq to avoid a war, but if the peaceful route was rejected, the country would be disarmed by force. Blair again voiced support for a second UN resolution if Iraq breached its obligations to disarm. But he said such a resolution must be a way of resolving the issue, "not delaying or avoiding dealing with it at all." Despite the differences with France on Iraq, British defence officials insisted that good progress on a range of fronts was possible at the Le Touquet talks, including further co-operation on the European defence initiative. Home Secretary David Blunkett is expected to agree moves to curb asylum seekers with his French counterpart, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, including plans for more joint immigration controls.
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