US President George W. Bush held with French President Jacques Chirac on the fringes of the G8 summit today. It is their first one-on-one meeting since their fallout over the Iraq war.
The two presidents appeared relaxed as they chatted with reporters before beginning their private talks, with Mr Bush thanking his French host for his "warm hospitality".
Mr Bush exchanged jokes, hearty laughter and handshakes on the terrace at Evian's plush Royal Hotel with Mr Chirac and fellow Iraq war objector Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of Germany.
"I know there's a lot of people in both our countries wondering whether or not we're going to actually sit down and have a comfortable conversation," he said.
"The answer is absolutely, we can have disagreements but that doesn't mean that we have to be disagreeable to each other."
But he added: "We must be frank, we went through a difficult period."
AFP