Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Paris today for talks with French President Jacques Chirac on the Iraqi crisis as European opposition to US plans for a military strike against Iraq mounted.
Mr Chirac greeted the Russian leader upon his arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport north of Paris. The two presidents left the heavily guarded site aboard a helicopter.
Mr Putin is scheduled to meet French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin before talks with Mr Chirac followed by a state dinner in the evening.
Mr Putin's three-day visit comes after a weekend of diplomatic maneuvering in Europe over how to avert US military action in Iraq, with Paris, Berlin and Moscow apparently uniting to counter Washington's calls for war.
The transatlantic rift widened today when anti-war France and Belgium, backed by Germany, used their veto power to block US demands to launch military planning in support of alliance member Turkey, which borders Iraq.
In a bid to unite Europe behind a common policy on Iraq, Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis announced that the European Union would hold an emergency summit on February 17th in Brussels.
Amid the unprecedented turmoil at NATO, Mr Putin and Mr Chirac are expected to discuss a series of proposals put forth by France and Germany for disarming Iraq through tougher inspections, which Mr Putin backed yesterday after talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in Berlin.
"All those who follow the evolution of the situation in Iraq can see that France, Germany and Russia are almost completely in agreement," Mr Putin said, adding: "At the moment, there is no basis for resorting to the use of force."
AFP